The future is wide open
MTA displays new subway model
THE FUTURE of the MTA’s subway fleet is hiding in plain sight at a Manhattan station.
Tucked away in Midtown, the MTA has a prototype of the newest train model — replete with open-ended cars and stamped with the state seal.
Exclusive Daily News photos show one complete train car, and another that’s been dissected, stashed behind a blue construction wall on the mezzanine of the No. 7 line’s W. 34th St.-Hudson Yards station.
A source told The News the prototypes pictured are the R211 model, which will feature an open-gangway design — with accordion-like rubber connectors affording access between cars. The new trains will also have digital screens to give riders information specific to their location, such as when they’ll arrive at the next stop and the station’s layout, according to the MTA. Outside, the cars bear the New York State seal and a distinctive sash of blue and yellow stripes.
The cars are branded with the same color scheme as new bus models that are equipped with Wi-Fi and USB ports.
Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokesman Shams Tarek said riders will be able to check out the prototype, but he didn’t say when the construction shed will come down.
“The MTA is excited to bring new, state-of-the-art open-gangway cars into the subway as part of our record-setting capital program,” Tarek said in a statement. “Our customers will be able to review these prototypes and we look forward to their feedback as we work to deliver the best system possible to serve them.”
Gov. Cuomo, who controls the MTA, has attempted to shirk full responsibility for the deteriorating state of the system — as well as the entire cost of its repair.
He and MTA chairman Joe Lhota have been pressuring Mayor de Blasio to fund half of a $836 million subway rescue plan. De Blasio has refused, arguing the state already raided funds that should have gone to the MTA.
The MTA is buying 940 new train cars, with 10 open-gangway models, under the 2015 and 2020 capital plans. The design could change because the contract for the train cars is still open, according to the MTA.
“Gov. Cuomo secured a record $8.3 billion state investment in this capital plan precisely to deliver improvements like new stateof-the-art subway cars,” Jon Weinstein, the governor’s spokesman, said in a statement.