NEW YORK — New York City Transit rolled out its latest generation of subway equipment, the R211 car, on the B Line on Monday (July 21, 2025), marking the fourth route to receive the new railcars and meaning the equipment is now operating in all five boroughs.
“I’m thrilled that B train riders from the Bronx to Brooklyn will experience safer and more reliable service with this addition,” NYC Transit President Demetrius Crichlow said in a press release. “The R211s are state of the art and feature security cameras and digital displays along with wider doorways that will help speed up boarding times and improve accessibility.”
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority placed the initial order for 535 of the cars with Kawasaki Railcar in 2018, and ordered another 640 cars in 2022 [see “New York set to order …,” Trains News Wire, Oct. 25, 2022]. There is also an option for another 437 cars. The first cars entered service in March 2023 [see “New York’s MTA places first new subway cars into service,” News Wire, March 11, 2025]. The R211s, which include a variant for the Staten Island Railway and a pilot order of open-gangway cars, will replace the R44 cars in service on Staten Island and R46 in wide use.
The B Line serves 37 stations in the Bronx, Manhattan, and Brooklyn.
