New York City Subway rolling stock

The "2007 Holiday Shopper's Special", December Sundays, a train of R1, R4, R7A, and R9 subway cars running in special service at the 23rd Street (Sixth Avenue) station

An R142A series car interior in service on the 4 route

A Vaktrak track vacuuming train^[1]

The New York City Subway is a large rapid transit system and has a large fleet of rolling stock.

Total fleet

As of November 2016, the New York City Subway has 6418 cars on the roster.^{[2][lower-alpha 1]} The system maintains two separate fleets of cars: one for the IRT routes, the other for the BMT/IND routes. All BMT/IND equipment is about 10 feet (3.05 m) wide and either 60 feet 6 inches (18.44 m) or 75 feet 6 inches (23.01 m) long whereas IRT equipment is approximately 8 feet 9 inches (2.67 m) wide and 51 feet (15.54 m) long. The A Division and B Division trains operate only in their own division; operating in the other division is not allowed because the IRT sections have narrower tunnel segments, tighter curves, and tighter platform clearances than the BMT/IND sections. IRT Division trains would have an unacceptably large gap between the platform and train if they were allowed in the BMT/IND Division, and BMT/IND trains would not fit in the IRT tunnels and stations. The safety train stop (trip cock) mechanism between divisions is also incompatible, being located on opposite sides of the track and train in each division. Service and maintenance trains are composed of IRT sized cars, do not carry passengers, and can operate on either division as the safety train stop is built on both sides of the trucks. However, all rolling stock, in either A or B Division, runs on the same 4 foot 8.5 inches (1,435 mm) gauge.

There is also a special fleet of BMT/IND cars, used for operation in the BMT Eastern Division, which is the J, L, M and Z trains. The BMT Eastern Division has shorter platforms, so these trains can only use eight 60-foot (18.29 m) long cars. As of June 2013, R32 and R42 married pairs along with R143 and R160A four-car sets are assigned to the BMT Eastern Division. 75-foot (22.86 m) long cars, like the R44s, R46s, R68s, and R68As are not permitted on BMT Eastern Division trackage because of sharper curves.

A typical revenue train consists of 8 to 11 cars, although shuttles can be as short as two, and the 7 runs 11-car trains. Train lengths range from about 150 to 600 feet (46 to 183 m) long. As a general rule, trains on A Division lines inherited from the IRT (designated with numbers, plus the 42nd Street Shuttle) are shorter and narrower than those that operate on B Division lines inherited from BMT/IND (designated with letters).

When the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company entered into agreements to operate some of the new subway lines, they decided to design a new type of car, 10 feet (3.05 m) wide and 67 feet (20.42 m) long. The subject of several patents, the car's larger profile was similar to that of steam railroad coaches, permitting greater passenger capacity, more comfortable seating, and other advantages. The BRT unveiled its design, designated BMT Standard, to the public in 1913 and received such wide acceptance that all future subway lines, whether built for the BRT, the IRT or eventually, the IND, were built to handle the wider cars.

When the R44s and R46s were rebuilt, the rollsigns on the side of the cars were replaced with electronic LCD signs while the front service sign remained as a rollsign. In sharp contrast, the rebuilt R32s and R38s retained rollsigns on the sides, but an LCD display was placed in the front. The MTA has been incorporating newer subway cars into its stock in the past decade. Since 1999, the R142s, R142As, R143s, R160As, and R160Bs have been added into service.^[3][4] All cars built since 1992, (including the now out-of-service R110As and R110Bs) are equipped with digital signs on the front, sides, and interior (except for the R110B, which has rollsigns on the front).

Old cars, some from the original companies (IRT and BMT), are preserved at the New York Transit Museum, while others have been sold to private individuals, rail and trolley museums.

Between 1984 and 1989 some of the IRT trains were painted red, giving them the name Redbirds.^{[lower-alpha 2]} By September 2010, many older BMT/IND cars (most R32s, all R38s, all R40s, all R40As, almost all R42s, and almost all R44s) were also retired and replaced with the R160s.

General Overhaul Program

The General Overhaul Program (GOH) was a mid-life overhaul program for neglected subway cars which involved thorough rebuilding of the fleet. Since the completion of the GOH program, the new Scheduled Maintenance System (SMS) program has replaced the GOH program by ensuring that trains do not reach a state in which they would need such an overhaul. The car types which were part of the MTA NYCT GOH program are the IRT Redbirds (R26, R28, R29, R33, R33 WF, R36, R36 WF), as well as IND/BMT cars (R30 GE, R32, R38, R40, R40A, R40M, R42, R44 and R46). These cars were rebuilt between 1985 and 1992. Some cars in various classes from R10 to R46 were also given lighter overhauls during this period.

"R"-prefixed orders

Cars purchased by the City of New York since the inception of the IND and for the other divisions beginning in 1948 are identified by the letter "R" followed by a number; e.g.: R32. This number is the contract number under which the cars were purchased. Cars with nearby contract numbers (e.g.: R1 through R9, or R21 through R36 WF, or R143 through R160B) may be virtually identical, simply being purchased under different contracts.

The New York City Board of Transportation settled on a system of documentation that is still in place under MTA New York City Transit. This included a prefix letter or letters that indicated the Department that the specific documentation, followed by a series of numbers of a length defined by the specific department concerned. For example, the Surface Department used the letter "S", while the Rapid Transit Department used the letter "R". A new R- number is assigned for any vehicle purchase involving a bidding process. Since the 1970s, the system has suffered from "R- inflation" going through only 46 R- numbers in its first 40 years, but over 114 in its subsequent 30. Possible reasons include an increased number of specialized maintenance vehicles that were previously made in house or a lower floor for requiring a formal bidding process in order to reduce waste and abuse.

Disposal at sea

Retired subway cars being transported to the ocean, where they will be dropped into the water to create an artificial reef

In 2001, the New York City Transit Authority started disposing of retired subway cars by dumping them at sea to create artificial reefs, with the intention of promoting marine life. This option was chosen because it was less expensive than removing asbestos from the cars; the asbestos was determined to not be a hazard in the ocean.^[5] Further, the artificial reefs would provide environmental and economic benefits, such as providing shelter for marine animals and creating new fishing opportunities. The first reef constructed was Redbird Reef in Delaware. Eventually, multiple states received retired subway cars for reefs.^[6] The program was discontinued in 2010, after more than 2,500 cars were reefed, because newer cars contained more plastic, which was too expensive to economically remove before reefing.^[7][8]

Current fleet

Contract #	Division	Year Built	Builder	Car Length[lower-alpha 3]	Car Width	Photo	Fleet numbers (Total ordered)	CBTC	Assigned Services	Yard assignment	Notes
R032 !R32/R32A	B	1964	Budd Company	60 ft or 18.29 m	10 feet (3.05 m)		R32A: 3350–3649 R32: 3650–3949 (600 total, 222 left in revenue service)	No	– 10 cars (1 train; AM rush)  – 20 cars (2 train; PM rush)  – 64 cars (8 trains, AM rush)  – 56 cars (7 trains, AM rush)  – 96 cars (12 trains)	207th Street East New York	Married pairs; even numbered cars have motor generator and battery, odd numbered cars have air compressor. Mismatched pairs common due to losses from accidents. First production cars made out of stainless steel. Many cars have been retired and replaced by R160A/R160B car order.[9][10] Retirement of remaining cars postponed to facilitate retirement of the R44s.
R042 !R42	B	1969-1970	St. Louis Car Company	60 ft or 18.29 m	10 feet (3.05 m)		4550–4949 (400 total, 50 left in revenue service)	No	– 40 cars (5 trains)	East New York	Married pairs; even numbered cars have motor generator and battery, odd numbered cars have air compressor. Almost all cars have been retired and replaced by R160A/R160B car order. Retirement of remaining cars postponed to facilitate retirement of the R44s.
R044 !R44	B	1971-1973	St. Louis Car Company	75 ft or 22.86 m	10 feet (3.05 m)		388–435 436–466 (even numbers only) (352 total, 63 left in revenue service)	No	Staten Island Railway – 63 cars (15–16 trains)	Clifton	Even numbered cars have single full-width cabs, and are known as "A" cars Odd numbered cars have blind ends, and are known as "B" cars. Staten Island Railway cars are all singles. New York City Subway car numbers were originally 100–387 and renumbered 5202–5479 (see retired fleet section).
R046 !R46	B	1975-1978	Pullman Company	75 ft or 22.86 m	10 feet (3.05 m)		5482–6207 (4-car sets) 6208–6258 (even numbers only) (754 total, 752 in service)	No	– 296 cars (37 trains)  – 56 cars (7 trains)  – 240 cars (30 trains)  – 12 cars (3 trains)	Jamaica Pitkin	Even numbered cars have single full-width cabs, and are known as "A" cars Odd numbered cars have blind ends, and are known as "B" cars. Most cars are in A-B-B-A configuration as 4-car sets. Higher numbered cars are in A-A configuration (6208–6258), with one pair being an A-B (6206–6207). Car numbers were originally 500–1227 and 1228–1278 even numbers only. Two cars (941 & 1054) scrapped prior to General Overhaul.
R062 !R62	A	1983-1985	Kawasaki Heavy Industries	51.04 ft or 15.56 m	8 feet 9 inches (2.67 m)		1301–1625 (325 total, 315 in service)	No	– 10 cars (1 train)  – 250 cars (25 trains)	Livonia 240th Street	Originally single cars, now 5-car sets. 10 cars (1366-1370, 1435-1437, 1439-1440) retired. 1366-1370 were retired in 2000, due to an accident. Car 1369 was scrapped in 2005. Car 1366 and half of car 1370 are at the FDNY Randalls Island training center. Cars 1367 and 1368 were reefed in February 2008. 1435-1437 & 1439-1440 were 5 of the 10 cars involved in the Union Square wreck in 1991. 1438 now part of a 5-car set with 1431-1434.
R062A !R62A	A	1984-1987	Bombardier Transportation	51.04 ft or 15.56 m	8 feet 9 inches (2.67 m)		1651–2475 (825 total, 824 in service)	No	– 310 cars (31 trains)  – 360 cars (36 trains)  – 22 cars (2 trains)  – 10 cars (3 trains)	240th Street Corona Livonia Westchester	Originally single cars, 1901-1960 still mostly singles, all other cars in 5-car sets. 1651-1900, 2156-2475, and select 1900s, 2000s, and lower 2100s (up to 2155) have full-width cabs at ends of sets. 1909 wrecked, retired and scrapped.
R068 !R68	B	1986-1988	Westinghouse Electric Corporation & AMRail	75 ft or 22.86 m	10 feet (3.05 m)		2500–2924 (425 total)	No	– 48 cars (8 trains)  – 232 cars (29 trains, AM rush)  – 216 cars (27 trains, PM rush)  – 52 cars (13 trains)  – 16 cars (2 train)  – 4 cars (2 trains)	Concourse Coney Island	Originally single cars, 2500–2915 are now in 4-car sets. 2916–2924 are singles used for the Franklin Avenue Shuttle.
R068A !R68A	B	1988-1989	Kawasaki Heavy Industries	75 ft or 22.86 m	10 feet (3.05 m)		5001–5200 (200 total)	No	– 8 cars (1 train; PM rush)  – 152 cars (19 trains, AM rush)  – 136 cars (17 trains, PM rush)	Coney Island	Originally single cars, now 4-car sets.
R142	A	1999-2003	Bombardier Transportation	51.04 ft or 15.56 m	8 feet 9 inches (2.67 m)		1101–1250, 6301–7180 (1030 total)	No	– 340 cars (34 trains)  – 220 cars (22 trains)  – 340 cars (34 trains)	East 180th Street 239th Street Mosholu	Cars ending in 1, 5, 6 and 0 have single full-width cabs, and are known as "A" cars. Cars ending in 2, 3, 4, 7, 8 and 9 have no cabs, and are known as "B" cars. All cars are sequentially numbered in A-B-B-B-A configuration as 5-car sets.
R142A	A	1999-2004	Kawasaki Heavy Industries	51.04 ft or 15.56 m	8 feet 9 inches (2.67 m)		7591–7810 (220 total)	No	– 130 cars (13 trains)  – 30 cars (3 trains, AM rush)  –cars (4 trains, PM rush)	Mosholu Westchester	Cars ending in 1, 5, 6 and 0 have single full-width cabs, and are known as "A" cars. Cars ending in 2, 3, 4, 7, 8 and 9 have no cabs, and are known as "B" cars. All cars are sequentially numbered in A-B-B-B-A configuration as 5-car sets. Original order was 7211-7810. 380 cars (38 trainsets, 7211-7590) to be converted to R188 by 2015 for the IRT Flushing Line.[11]
R143	B	2001-2003	Kawasaki Heavy Industries	60 ft or 18.29 m	10 feet (3.05 m)		8101–8312 (212 total, 208 in service)	Yes	– 168 cars (21 trains, AM rush)  – 152 cars (21 trains, AM rush)	East New York	All cars are sequentially numbered in A-B-B-A configuration as 4-car sets. The cars whose numbers, when divided by 4, give a remainder of 0 or 1, are "A" cars. Cars whose numbers give a remainder of 2 or 3 when divided by 4 are "B" cars. "A" cars have single full-width cabs, "B" cars have no cabs. Four cars (8277–8280) taken out of service in 2006 due to bumper block overshoot incident.
R160A4 !R160A-1	B	2005-2010	Alstom Transportation	60 ft or 18.29 m	10 feet (3.05 m)		8313–8652, 9943–9974 (4-car sets) (372 cars, of 1662 total)	8313-8380 only	– 80 cars (8 trains)  – 40 cars (5 trains)  – 24 cars (3 trains, AM rush)  – 16 cars (2 trains, PM rush)  – 184 cars (23 trains, AM rush)  – 176 cars (22 trains, PM rush)	207th Street East New York	All car sets are sequentially numbered. "A" cars have single full-width cabs, "B" cars have no cabs. Sets are in A-B-B-A configuration as 4-car sets.
R160A5 !R160A-2	B	2005-2010	Alstom Transportation	60 ft or 18.29 m	10 feet (3.05 m)		8653–9942 (5-car sets)[12] (1290 cars, of 1662 total)	No	– 260 cars (26 trains)  – 230 cars (23 trains)  – 70 cars (7 trains)	Coney Island Jamaica	All car sets are sequentially numbered. "A" cars have single full-width cabs, "B" cars have no cabs. Cars ending in 3, 7, 8. and 2 are "A" cars. Cars ending in 4, 5, 6, 9, 0. and 1 are "B" cars. Sets are in A-B-B-B-A configuration as 5-car sets. 260 cars (8843-9102) have Siemens SITRAC AC traction motors.
R160B	B	2005-2010	Kawasaki Heavy Industries	60 ft or 18.29 m	10 feet (3.05 m)			No	– 140 cars (14 trains)  – 310 cars (31 trains)  – 120 cars (12 trains)
R179	B	2016-2018	Bombardier Transportation	60 ft or 18.29 m	10 feet (3.05 m)		3010-3309 (300 cars)	No	N/A	N/A	Cars in 4-car and 5-car sets. Being delivered as of September 2016 Expected full delivery by July 2018
R188	A	2011-2015	Kawasaki Heavy Industries	51.04 ft or 15.56 m	8 feet 9 inches (2.67 m)		7211–7590, 7811–7936 (506 total)	Yes	– 374 cars (34 trains) 363 cars (33 trains)	Corona	Cars in 5-car and 6-car sets for IRT Flushing Line service. Order consists of a combination of 126 new cars & R142A conversions by the manufacturer, totaling 380 car conversions.[11][13] 7811-7821 entered 30-day revenue testing as of November 9, 2013 and completed on December 9, 2013.[14] Conversion sets numbered 7211-7590 are numbered as follows: Cars ending in 0, 1, 5, and 6 are "A" cars. Cars ending in 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, and 9 are "B" cars. Cars 7811-7898 are eight new 11-car trains, with cars sequentially numbered. The cars whose four-digit numbers that, when divided by 11, give a remainder of 0, 1, 5, and 6, are "A" cars. The other cars are "B" cars. Cars 7899-7936 are "C" cars to be inserted into converted R142A sets in order to form 6-car sets.

Track geometry car

The track geometry car at Jay Street – Borough Hall.

The two-car track geometry car set of the New York City Subway helps to measure the system's track geometry. It measures:

• Alignment - "Alignment is the projection of the track geometry of each rail or the track center line onto the horizontal plane," (FRA Definition).^[15] Also known as the "straightness" of the tracks.
• Crosslevel - The variation in cant of the track over the length of a predetermined "chord" length (generally 62 feet or 18.90 meters). On straight or tangent track, ideally there should be no variation, while on curves, a cant is generally desired.
• Curvature - The amount by which the rail deviates from being straight or tangent. The geometry car checks the actual curvature (in Degree of curvature) of a curve versus its design curvature.
• Rail gauge - The distance between the rails. Over time, rail may become too wide or too narrow. In North America and most of the world, standard gauge is 4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in (1,435 mm).
• Rail profile - Looks for rail wear and deviations from standard profile.
• Warp - The maximum change in crosslevel over a predetermined chord length (generally sixty-two feet).^[16]
• Corrugation of running rail surface
• Tunnel and station platform clearances
• Third rail height and gauge
• Vertical gap between third rail and protective board^[17]

The track geometry car typically checks each stretch of track about 6 times a year; the car is manually operated, and there are no plans to automate inspection of the track geometry, which is done manually with the help of high-tech equipment aboard the car.^[18]

Future fleet

Contract #	Division	Builder Year To Be Built	Total	Photo (rendering)	Notes
R211	B	TBA Late 2010s-Early 2020s	1025 cars (950 for New York City Subway; 75 for Staten Island Railway)[19]		To replace all remaining R32s, all the remaining R44s (SIR) and possibly all the R46s, and to expand the fleet for the Second Avenue Subway. CBTC-equipped. At least 10 cars to feature open gangways.

In addition, 168 additional cars are proposed to be built and provided for service on the E, G, L, and N services between 2015 and 2019; the contract number for these growth cars is still unknown, and it is unknown if such cars would be delivered before 2019. However, it is expected that these "new" cars could be cars displaced from other services after the R179s are delivered, as some of the R32s (which were originally planned to be replaced completely by the R179s) will not be replaced until the R211 order is delivered.^[20]:35–36

Retired fleet

IRT Pre-Unification listing

BMT Pre-Unification listing

R-type listing

A R33 Redbird car

Miscellaneous

The "Train of Many Colors" makes another appearance on the 7 train in 2008, commemorating the last game at Shea Stadium

• Air conditioning is standard on all cars R42 and later. R38s 4140-49 and R40s 4350–4549 were also delivered with A/C, and all cars not equipped with A/C from classes R26-R40 (With the exception of the R27, R30, and R33WF) were later retrofitted with A/C. All active cars are equipped with air conditioning and cars with malfunctioning air conditioning are not supposed to be put into service.^[24]
• During World War II, a group of old New York elevated line cars dating from the late 19th century was sent west to the San Francisco Bay Area by the United States Maritime Commission for use by the Shipyard Railway, a temporary wartime electric line transporting workers to the Kaiser Shipyards. After the war, most were sold to be used as units in a local motel, but their whereabouts afterwards is unknown. Two of them however were acquired and have been restored by the Western Railway Museum in Rio Vista, California.^[25]
• There are many examples of rolling stock built under contract which are not intended for revenue service, such as the R95 money train, R127/R134 garbage train and R156 work locomotive.^[26]
• The table below shows what year the TA had expected to retire several car models in 1981.^[27]

Notes

References

Further reading

• Cudahy, Brian J. Under the Sidewalks of New York: The Story of the Greatest Subway System in the World, 2nd Revised Edition. Fordham University Press, New York, 1995. ISBN 0-8232-1618-7
• Davis, Ed Sr. (1985). They Moved the Millions: A Brief History of Passenger Cars of America's Most Heavily Travelled Passenger Railway, the New York City Transit System. Livingston Enterprise. 
• Dougherty, Peter J. Tracks of the New York City Subway, version 4.2. 2007
• Kramer, Frederick A. Building the Independent Subway. Quadrant Press, Inc.; New York, 1990. ISBN 0-915276-50-X
• Sansone, Gene. Evolution of New York City subways: An illustrated history of New York City's transit cars, 1867–1997. New York Transit Museum Press, New York, 1997. ISBN 978-0-9637492-8-4.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to New York City Subway trains.

• nycsubway.org New York City Subway Cars
• Pre-Unification Cars (BMT)
• Pre-Unification Cars (IRT)
• R-Type Cars 1932 to 1987
• R-Type Cars 1999 to Present (NTT)
• 'R' Type Roster (includes non-train contracts)
• Forgotten NY Subway Link
• IRT Car Assignments – November 6, 2016
• BMT-IND Car Assignments – November 6, 2016
• New York City Subway Car Fleet June 2010 through November 2016

New York City Subway revenue rolling stock
Current	B Division / SIR: R32 R42 R44 R46 R68 R68A NTT R143 R160 R179 A Division: R62 R62A NTT R142 R142A R188
Future	B Division / SIR: R211
Retired (R-type)	IND / BMT (B Division): Arnines R1 R4 R6 R7 R7A R9 R10 R11/R34 R16 Redbirds R27 R30/A R38 R40 R40A R110B (experimental) IRT (A Division): R12 R14 R15 R17 R21 R22 Redbirds R26 R28 R29/R99 R33 R33 WF R36 R36 WF R110A (experimental) Train of Many Colors
Retired (private operators)	BMT / SIR Elevated: BU cars C-type Q-type Queens car Subway: AB Standard Bluebird Compartment Car D-type Triplex MS Multi-section car SIRT ME-1 IRT Composite Gibbs Hi-V Deck Roof Hi-V Hedley Hi-V Steinway Lo-V "Flivver" Lo-V Standard Lo-V World's Fair Lo-V
Work trains	R8A R65 R127/R134 R156
Never built	R39 R55 R83
See also: R-type contracts

New York City Subway
Services	Services in operation  1   2   3   4   5   6   7   A   B   C   D   E   F   G   J   L   M   N   Q   R   W   Z   S  Shuttles 42nd Street Franklin Avenue Rockaway Park Unused or defunct services 8 9 AA BB CC EE (Eighth Avenue) EE (Broadway) GG H (Far Rockaway) H/HH (Rockaway Park) HH (Court Street) JJ K (Jamaica) K (Eighth Avenue) KK LL MJ NX P QB QJ QT RJ RR T TT U V X Y JFK Express Shuttles 63rd Street Bowling Green Culver Grand Street BMT 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Brooklyn Loops East New York Loop
Stations	By borough The Bronx Brooklyn Manhattan Queens By type Closed Terminals Transfer Accessible
Divisions	A Division IRT B Division BMT IND
Other lists	Lines Yards Rolling stock R-type contracts
Expansion	Capital projects 7 Subway Extension Second Avenue Subway Other proposals Program for Action
History	Early history IRT BMT BRT (defunct) Dual Contracts Crashes Ninth Avenue derailment Malbone Street Wreck 1928 Times Square derailment 1991 Union Square derailment Miss Subways Strikes 1966 1980 2005 1984 New York City Subway shooting 2000 lawsuit against NYCTA
Infrastructure	58 Joralemon Street Fulton Center Corbin Building Dey Street Passageway Substations 7 18 219 401 IRT Dyckman-Hillside
Arts and culture	Tiles MTA Arts & Design Music Under New York Showtime (busking) In popular culture Subway Series Mass Transit Super Bowl
Miscellaneous	Map Nomenclature Automation and signals Chaining Fares MetroCard Pizza Principle Subway Challenge
Other rapid transit in NYC	AirTrain JFK PATH Staten Island Railway Stations Historical Beach Pneumatic Transit

Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Bus	Regional Bus Operations
Rapid transit	New York City Subway Staten Island Railway
Commuter rail	Long Island Rail Road Metro-North Railroad
Crossings	Bridges and Tunnels
Law enforcement	Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police New York City Police Department Transit Bureau Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority Police Department
Fleet	Subway Bus Long Island Rail Road Metro-North Railroad
Other	Bus and subway fares Dedicated bus lanes MetroCard New York City Transit Authority Histories New York City Subway Staten Island Railway New York City Transit Police Capital Construction MTA Arts & Design
Former services	Long Island Bus