The design of the R211 subway automobile, constructed by Kawasaki Rail, is a departure from historic NYC Transit subway automobile design. MTA
The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) right this moment launched the primary take a look at its latest state-of-the-art subway automobiles in manufacturing, the R211 class, which is deliberate for service on the subway system’s lettered routes and the Staten Island Railway.
The MTA Board accredited the $1.four billion contract award of 535 R211 automobiles to Kawasaki Rail Automobile Inc. in 2018 and the supply of the primary take a look at automobiles is scheduled for later this 12 months.
The design of the R211 subway automobile is a departure from historic NYC Transit subway automobile design. A few of the base order’s R211 automobiles function an “open gangway” design on the ends of the automobiles, which permits riders to maneuver freely between automobiles to cut back crowding and distribute passenger masses extra evenly all through the prepare. All R211 automobiles may also embrace digital shows that can present real-time, location-specific details about service and stations, new seize rails together with double-poles, and brighter and clearer lighting, signage, and security graphics.
The open-gangway design permits for higher buyer circulation.
MTA
R211 automobile design components embrace: Open-gangway design: The open-gangway design replaces the door between automobiles with an accordion-like connector to create longer, open areas, permitting for higher buyer circulation, motion, and growing capability within the course of. Wider doorways: The door width of the brand new automobiles can be expanded from the present MTA normal of 50 inches to 58 inches. Wider subway doorways can cut back delays by permitting prospects to enter and exit extra rapidly, and have grow to be a world normal. In keeping with pc simulations of buyer circulation, wider doorways can cut back the time a prepare is stopped in a station throughout crowded eventualities by as a lot as 32 p.c. 
Buyer facilities & security: The inside of latest automobiles may also function new facilities reminiscent of full colour digital buyer info shows, digital commercials, illuminated door opening alerts and cameras to advertise buyer security. Exterior: The R211 automobiles could have a brand new blue entrance with giant home windows, LED headlights, and a blue stripe with gold accents alongside the edges.
Kawasaki is presently in manufacturing for 30 pilot R211 automobiles, together with 20 of the open-gangway design, that can start to be delivered to NYC Transit for testing later this 12 months, which is step one within the manufacturing course of for Transit’s base order of the R211 automobiles. The pilot automobiles are being inbuilt Kawasaki’s facility in Lincoln, Neb., and the manufacturing of the bottom order can be inbuilt each the Nebraska plant and a Kawasaki facility in Yonkers, N.Y.
The R211 automobiles could have a brand new blue entrance with giant home windows, LED headlights, and a blue stripe with gold accents alongside the edges.
MTA
This R211 contract was the primary NYC Transit contract to stipulate that detailed plans by the proposers for the creation and retention of U.S. jobs. Kawasaki, together with its subcontractors, dedicated to offer roughly 470 U.S. jobs for the bottom contract value an estimate of $125 million.
As soon as preliminary testing of the pilot automobiles has efficiently concluded, manufacturing on the bottom order of the R211 automobiles will start. Manufacturing of the bottom order is predicted to take roughly two years.
“These new automobiles characterize the way forward for the New York subway and would be the new normal for all new NYC Transit subway automobiles going ahead,” mentioned Frank Jezycki, NYC Transit’s govt VP/COO for the Division of Subways. “We’re in fixed communications with Kawasaki all through the manufacturing course of, which is on schedule and on price range in order that our prospects will be capable of profit very quickly from the most recent automobile know-how obtainable.”
