High Tech Cars Begin to Rollout on the MTA’s Subway System
Beginning in August, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) will begin adding at least two of the new Kawasaki R211 subway cars each month to the letter subway lines. Following months of testing, the new subway cars that were introduced in March on the A-line feature new technology enabling transit officials to vastly increase service due to the ability to dispatch trains as often as two minutes apart. In addition, the trains are equipped with “security cameras, enhanced lighting, and wider doors for speedier boarding. Among the 1,175 cars ordered, 20 cars that are expected to become active on the subway system in the 4th quarter of 2023, will have open gangways creating a seamless connection between cars that is intended to increase rider capacity and mobility. The A- and C-lines will be the first to benefit from the rollout of the R211 cars to replace the “embattled R46 trains that have been running throughout the subway for 50 years.”