Late Arrival: New Train Cars Finally Come to Staten Island After Three-Year Wait (2024)

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The R211 model will replace SIR cars that have been in service for more than 50 years.

Late Arrival: New Train Cars Finally Come to Staten Island After Three-Year Wait (1)byJose Martinez

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Late Arrival: New Train Cars Finally Come to Staten Island After Three-Year Wait (2)

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Staten Island straphangers who ride the oldest train cars in the MTA fleet are finally receiving a long-delayed upgrade.

The first of the new Staten Island Railway cars began carrying riders Tuesday, nearly three years after they were supposed to debut.

The modern R211 cars, which have been running on A and C trains since early last year, will eventually phase out a model that has been retired on all MTA lines since 2010 — except along the 21-station line that runs between St. George and Tottenville, where they have been in service for more than half a century.

“I’ve been riding those same old cars since I was a kid — the air conditioning is on and off and they’re very uncomfortable,” said Ben Kasprzak, 43, who commutes to Manhattan daily via the railway and Staten Island Ferry. “We deserve something new, finally.”

Late Arrival: New Train Cars Finally Come to Staten Island After Three-Year Wait (3)

In all, 75 new cars will go into service on Staten Island, making up 15 trains. They are part of the MTA’s $1.4 billion purchase in January 2018 of 535 R211 cars from Japanese manufacturer Kawasaki.

Delivery of the new cars, which have wider doors, flip-up seats and pre-installed security cameras, was initially delayed by a pandemic-driven supply-chain slowdown. The new cars encountered further delays last January, when the MTA discovered a software issue with their automatic train control system.

The 535 new cars were ordered as part of the MTA’s more than $50 billion 2020-2024 capital plan. The next $68.4 billion capital plan, which agency officials unveiled last month, calls for spending $7.6 billion on 1,500 new subway cars — or close to 22% of the entire fleet.

“The capital program funded these new cars and it’s going to fund a ton of new cars for the No. 1 train, the No. 3 train, the 4 train, the 5 train,” said Janno Lieber, MTA chairperson and CEO.

Transit officials said the R211 cars put in service Tuesday must carry Staten Island riders without a hitch for 30 days before others are rolled out.

The MTA is aiming to have the 75 new cars delivered by the middle of 2025, with the 1970s-era cars being phased out once testing is completed. The shift is expected to deliver faster and smoother rides.

Late Arrival: New Train Cars Finally Come to Staten Island After Three-Year Wait (4)

“Not only are these cars better for our riders, but they’re also more reliable,” said Demetrius Crichlow, interim president of New York City Transit. “These cars are projected to be at least six times more reliable than the current R44 cars we’re operating.”

On average, the nearly 300 R211 cars now in service on the subway travel more than 240,000 miles before breaking down and causing delays. As of August, the latest date for which numbers are available, the systemwide average for all MTA subway car classes was 118,640 miles, agency data shows.

The cars that currently run on the Staten Island Railway began carrying riders in 1971.

“They’re really beat up, there’s corrosion and some seats you can’t even sit on,” said Serena Rosa, who boarded the new train during its inaugural southbound run from St. George. “They’re rotten in certain areas.”

The first Staten Island Railway trip attracted a flock of rail aficionados from across the city, including 26-year-old Arqiel Roldan, who carried a Lego model he had built of the new train car.

“It’s great to see new trains coming through here for once,” Roldan said. “A lot of the old ones are in pretty bad shape.”

Late Arrival: New Train Cars Finally Come to Staten Island After Three-Year Wait (5)

Stephen Martone took an MTA bus from his home in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, to Staten Island, where he hopped on the new train at the Old Town station. He previously had taken two inaugural runs on R211 cars, including the one that first began carrying passengers in March 2023 and the February debut of an “open gangway” train that allows riders to walk between cars through accordion-like passageways.

“I wanted to do this one as well,” said Martone, who wore a Grand Central Madison baseball cap and a mask with the logos of all New York City Transit subway lines. “I’m a rail fanatic.”

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Jose MartinezSenior Reporter

jmartinez@thecity.nyc

Jose is THE CITY’s transportation reporter, where he covers the latest developments and policies impacting traffic and transit in the city.More by Jose Martinez

Late Arrival: New Train Cars Finally Come to Staten Island After Three-Year Wait (2024)
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