NEW YORK — The Staten Island Railway has completed its conversion to a fleet of R211 subway cars, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has announced.
In an event at St. George on Staten Island, MTA officials celebrated the fact the isolated 14-mile, 21-station segment of the New York City Transit rail system now has a full fleet of the R211S cars, replacing 52 R44 cars dating to 1973.
“This major milestone of successfully introducing all of the R211S cars into service on the Staten Island Railway means smoother commutes for Staten Islanders,” New York City Transit President Demetrius Crichlow said in a press release. “The cars have features that make the customers’ journeys undeniably better, and I look forward to bringing more modern rolling stock to the transit system as part of the 2025-2029 Capital Plan.”
Said MTA CEO Janno Lieber, “The new models not only look great, but they’re the key to running more reliable service for the borough’s thousands of daily riders.”
The Staten Island cars are among 1,610 of the Kawasaki-built R211 either in operation or on order for the NYC Transit system, including 100 built with an open-gangway design as a pilot program [see “New York MTA set to order …,” Trains.com, Dec. 17, 2024].
The cars debuted on the Staten Island Railway in October 2024 [see “New equipment debuts …,” Trains.com, Oct. 9, 2024]. Among their features are wider doors to speed up boarding, security cameras, more accessible seating, and digital displays offering more station-specific information.
The R44 cars will remain available as backups for a few years.
At last! A transition to new railcar rolling stock that has gone smoothly and without the myriad of problems and challenges that seem typical for most such upgrades. Congratulations.