New subway fleet to replace aged train cars, some dating back to 1980s, MTA says

A Metropolitan Transportation Authority plan to replace about one-third of its subway fleet will allow the agency to finally retire train cars dating back to the 1980s.

MTA officials on Thursday put out to bid a contract to manufacture nearly 2,400 subway cars, which will be funded through the agency's $68 billion 2025-29 capital budget.

"Thousands of new subway cars running better service and a more reliable ride for millions every day — that’s what we can achieve when we fully invest in transit," Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement.

Jessie Lazarus, chief of the MTA's rolling stock program, called it "the single biggest subway car order the MTA has ever made." The contract includes an initial order for 1,140 "R262” subway cars to be used on the 1, 3 and 6 subway lines — enough to retire the MTA's aging fleet of orange-seated R62 and R62A cars, some of which date back to the mid-'80s.

"They’ve really reached the end of their line. Sometimes when I board one, I’m not sure if I’m going to run into Cyndi Lauper or Run DMC on their way to a Mets ticker-tape parade," Lazarus said at a Brooklyn news conference.

The MTA will have an option to purchase an additional 1,250 cars to be used on the 2, 4 and 5 lines. Proposals are due back from bidders by September, and the MTA expects to award a contract by 2028. The first new cars would not roll out until the early 2030s, Lazarus said.

MTA officials said they would look for several innovations in the new train cars, including lighter materials to reduce energy costs and, potentially, "open gangway" designs to allow riders to walk through accordion-like connectors between cars without opening doors.

"Proven worldwide, open gangway train cars maximize capacity and comfort, which is crucial to housing, job, and economic growth beyond Manhattan near the ends of each line citywide," Danny Pearlstein, spokesman for the Riders Alliance, a transit advocacy group, said in a statement. 

By Alfonso A. Castillo

alfonso.castillo@newsday.com@alfonsoreports

Alfonso Castillo has been reporting for Newsday since 1999 and covering the transportation beat since 2008. He grew up in the Bronx and Queens and now lives in Valley Stream with his wife and two sons.