R110A (New York City Subway car)

Last updated

R110A
R130 train at East 239th Street Yard.jpg
R110A at the 239th Street Yard in the Bronx
In service1993–1998
Manufacturer Kawasaki Rail Car Company
Family name NTTT (New Technology Test Train)
Constructed1992
Entered serviceJune 15, 1993
RefurbishedWork service:
  • 2013–2014 (B-cars)
    2021–2022 (A-cars, pending)
Number built10
Number in service(6 in work service)
FormationFive-car sets or ABBBA
Fleet numbers8001–8010
Capacity24 (A car), 28 (B car)
Operators New York City Subway
Specifications
Car body construction Stainless steel
Car length51 ft 4 in (15.65 m)
Width8 ft (2.44 m)
Height12 ft (3.66 m)
Floor height3 ft 8.5 in (1.130 m)
Doors6 sets of 63 inch wide side doors per car
Maximum speed55 mph (89 km/h)
Weight15,478 lb (7,021 kg) (motor car)
9,800 lb (4,400 kg) (trailer car)
Traction system GTO–VVVF (AEG/Adtranz)
Traction motors Adtranz 1501A 150 hp (110 kW) 3-phase AC 4-pole synchronous motors
Electric system(s) Third rail,  625 V DC
Current collector(s) Contact shoe
UIC classification Bo’Bo’+Bo’Bo’+Bo’Bo’+Bo’Bo’+Bo’Bo’
AAR wheel arrangement B-B+B-B+B-B+B-B+B-B
Braking system(s) WABCO RT7
Safety system(s) dead man's switch, tripcock
Track gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge

The R110A (contract order R130) was a New York City Subway car model built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries in 1992 as a prototype New Technology Train to test various technologies. There were ten cars arranged as five-car sets. They were designed to test features that would be implemented on future mass-production New Tech Train orders.

Contents

First announced in 1989, the R110As entered service on June 15, 1993, on the 2 service. They continued to run until 1998, when they were pulled out of service due to brake problems and fire damage. [1] Between 2013 and 2014, all the B-cars (8002–8004 and 8007–8009) were converted into flood pump cars. The A–cars (8001, 8005–8006, and 8010) are currently being similarly converted.

Description

The R110As are numbered 8001–8010. The R110A was designed to test out new technology features that would be incorporated into future New Technology Trains, including the R142 car order, and it was not intended for long-term production use. [2]

Consists

The order is split into two five-car sets (8001–8005 and 8006–8010) that are permanently coupled together. Each car is 51 feet 4 inches (15.65 m) like other A Division subway cars. [3]

At each end of the five-car set, there is a full-width cab. The cab cars are powered by four traction motors each. The center car of each five-car set is an unpowered trailer, and the other two cars are powered by two traction motors each. [4] [5] : 62 

Innovations

The R110A cars are similar to R62s, but they have squarer ends and wider 63-inch passenger entry doors (over a foot wider than the R62 doors, which were 50 inches) that are staggered for better passenger flow because passengers would stand in the niche instead of in front of each door. [4] All car ends have clear lexan glass, allowing passengers to see through to the next car, except on cab ends. Massimo Vignelli was hired to design the car interior with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Arts for Transit program. The R110A has very bright colors with speckled black floors and with walls that are speckled gray. Unnecessary edges were removed from stanchions, poles, and bars to create a smoother and cleaner appearance. The United States Department of Transportation National Endowment for the Arts gave the 1995 national award for transportation design as a result of these efforts. [6] Interior surfaces are fiberglass, which is resistant to graffiti. [4]

Seating is improved by eliminating the bucket seats in favor of comfortable benches, [7] colored bright red, yellow, and blue. The interior has longitudinal seats on one side and transverse seating on the other, unlike previous IRT cars, which since 1910 have always featured all-longitudinal seating. One side is shifted from the other, making part of the bench on one side of the car face a door on the other side. [4] Some seating space is removed to allow for wider doors. [8] As a result, there was a significant reduction in seats, from a total of 440 in a train of R62As, to 264 in a train of R110As. However, the number of standees went up from 1,332 to 1,684. The seating capacity is 24 in the A-cars, and 28 in the non-cab B-cars. As a result of the loss of seats, there were complaints from the riding public, and as a result, most of the seats were restored on the first New Technology Train orders, the R142s and R142As. [6]

There are LED exterior line indicator signs on all cars, LCD destination signs in windows, and LED interior next stop/variable message signs inside the cars. The LED display on the front of the car could either be red, for Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line service, or the unconfirmed green, for Lexington Avenue Line service.

The R110As came with computerized cabs containing a control stand consisting of a single lever for traction and braking control, a reversing key, a small numeric and symbol keypad, and an LCD flat panel display. The display is used in conjunction with the keypad to control doors, reset alarms of various sorts including the passenger alert system, display train speed, and braking information, and do much more. [6]

It was proposed by the New York City Transit Authority to include an articulated train under the R110A contract, but because of the impact it would have had on the project's budget and schedule, it was rejected. [9] [10]

History

During the 1970s and 1980s, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) had made several large orders for subway cars, such as the R46, which had new components added to them. However, because there was not a prototype built first for testing, many expensive retrofits were required. The MTA was in the process of creating the first technologically-advanced subway car since the R44 in the early 1970s. [11] In order to avoid the aforementioned problem, in 1989, the MTA awarded contracts for two prototype test trains, one of which was the R110A (contract R130) for the A Division built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, and the R110B (contract R131) for the B Division built by Bombardier Transportation. [12] [13] The cost for each R110A car was $2,209,000. [4] [6]

These two fleets were called the New Technology Test Trains (NTTTs) and would test features that would be implemented on future mass-production orders, specifically the New Technology Trains. [13] [6] [14] [11] [15] The R110A tested new technology, including AC propulsion with regeneration, microprocessor-controlled doors and brakes, roof-mounted hermetic air-conditioning units, and fabricated trucks with air bags suspension. Passenger emergency intercoms for contacting train crews, passenger alarm strips to press in case of an emergency, improved lighting, glass to see into the next cars and the platform, and computerized announcements were all implemented. [6]

The R110A cars entered service on June 15, 1993, on the 2. [16] Around 1998, they were pulled out of service due to brake problems and fire damage and did not operate in passenger service afterward. [17] They were transported back and forth between IRT line yards and stored until 2013. [16]

Reconditioning

Starting in 2013, it was decided to convert the cars to pump train cars as the car bodies had many years of service left on them.

Between summer 2013 and fall 2014, the B-cars (cars 8002–8004 and 8007–8009) were converted to hose-reach cars under contract R32442. A-car 8005 was completely stripped of parts to become a pump train car as well; however, the conversion process was halted sometime in 2014 as it was decided to use only the B-cars as hose-reach cars (along with R72 flatcars OF219 and OF220 as pump cars) at the time. The B-cars were renumbered to P8002–P8004 and P8007–P8009 after conversion. The conversion of the six B-cars for pump train service helped increase the number of available pump trains, which will shorten the amount of time it takes to pump water out of the subway system. [18]

Starting in 2022, the A-cars (cars 8001, 8005, 8006, and 8010) are being converted under contract R32443, with two becoming pump cars and the other two becoming generator cars that will power the equipment in the hose-reach cars and the pump cars. The plan for the A-cars was proposed in June 2017, and was approved in July 2021 and subsequently awarded to Brookville Equipment Corporation. [19] The A-cars remained stored unused until early 2022, when they were towed and taken off property for conversion. [20]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York City Subway</span> Rapid transit system in New York City

The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system in the New York City boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. It is owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October 27, 1904, the New York City Subway is one of the world's oldest public transit systems, one of the most-used, and the one with the most stations, with 472 stations in operation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R32 (New York City Subway car)</span> Retired class of New York City Subway car

The R32 was a New York City Subway car model built by the Budd Company from 1964 to 1965 for the IND/BMT B Division. A total of 600 R32s were built, numbered 3350–3949, though some cars were re-numbered. The R32 contract was divided into two subcontracts of 300 cars each: R32 and R32A ; the former was paid by the city's capital budget and the latter was paid through a revenue bond. All were arranged as married pairs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R142 (New York City Subway car)</span> Class of New York City Subway car

The R142 is the first mass-produced model class of the newest generation or new technology (NTT) A Division cars for the New York City Subway. It was built by Bombardier Transportation in La Pocatière, Quebec, Canada and Barre, Vermont, U.S. with final assembly performed at Plattsburgh, New York, from 1999 to 2003. There are 880 cars numbered 6301–7180 and another 150 cars numbered 1101–1250, for a total of 1,030 cars, all arranged as five-car sets. Together with the R142As, they replaced the Redbird trains, including the R26, R28, R29, R33, R33S, and R36.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R142A (New York City Subway car)</span> Class of New York City Subway car

The R142A is the second order of new technology cars (NTTs) for the A Division of the New York City Subway. These cars were built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries in the U.S. at Yonkers, New York and Lincoln, Nebraska, and in Japan at Kobe, Hyōgo. They replaced the Redbird trains, including the R26, R28, R29, R33, R33S, and R36. The R142A fleet initially comprised 600 cars, arranged as five-car units.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R46 (New York City Subway car)</span> Class of New York City Subway car

The R46 is a New York City Subway car model that was built by the Pullman Standard Company from 1975 to 1978 for the IND/BMT B Division. They replaced all remaining Arnine cars and General Electric-powered R16s, and some R10s. The R46 order initially consisted of 754 single cars, each 75 feet (23 m) long, and was the largest single order of passenger cars in United States railroad history at the point of the fleet's completion. The R46 was the second order of 75-foot cars to be ordered for the New York City Subway, after the R44s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R44 (New York City Subway car)</span> Class of New York City Subway car

The R44 is a New York City Subway car model built by the St. Louis Car Company from 1971 to 1973 for the B Division and the Staten Island Railway (SIR). The cars replaced many R1-R9 series cars, and all remaining 1925 Standard Steel built SIRTOA ME-1 trains, providing Staten Island with a new fleet of railcars. The R44 fleet originally consisted of 352 cars, of which 57 remain in service, all on the Staten Island Railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R42 (New York City Subway car)</span> Retired class of New York City Subway car

The R42 was a New York City Subway car model built by the St. Louis Car Company between 1969 and 1970 for the IND/BMT B Division. There were 400 cars in the R42 fleet, numbered 4550–4949. It was the last 60-foot (18.29 m) B Division car built for the New York City Subway until the R143 in 2001, and the last car model class to be built in married pairs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R62 (New York City Subway car)</span> Class of New York City Subway car

The R62 is a New York City Subway car model built between 1983 and 1985 by Kawasaki Heavy Industries in Kobe, Japan, for the A Division. A total of 325 cars were built, originally as single units. When the reliability of the fleet improved, they were converted to five-car sets. The cars replaced the remaining R12s, R14s, and R15s, which were all retired by the end of 1984.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R68A (New York City Subway car)</span> Class of New York City Subway car

The R68A is a B Division New York City Subway car order consisting of 200 cars built between 1988 and 1989 by Kawasaki Railcar Company in Kobe, Japan, with final assembly done at the Kawasaki plant in Yonkers, New York. A total of 200 cars were built, arranged in four-car sets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R110B (New York City Subway car)</span> Retired class of New York City Subway car

The R110B was a prototype class of experimental New Technology Train (NTT) New York City Subway cars built by Bombardier of Canada for service on the B Division services. There were nine cars, arranged as three-car sets. They were designed to test features that would be implemented on future mass-production NTT orders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R62A (New York City Subway car)</span> Class of New York City Subway car

The R62A is a New York City Subway car model built between 1984 and 1987 by Bombardier Transportation for the A Division. The cars were built in La Pocatière, Quebec, with final assembly done in Auburn, New York and Barre, Vermont, under a license from Kawasaki Heavy Industries, manufacturer of the previous R62 order. A total of 825 cars were built, arranged as sets of three, four, or five cars per set. The cars replaced the remaining R17s, R21s, and R22s, which were all retired by early 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R68 (New York City Subway car)</span> Class of New York City Subway car

The R68 is a B Division New York City Subway car order consisting of 425 cars built by the Westinghouse-Amrail Company, a joint venture of Westinghouse, ANF Industrie, Jeumont Schneider, and Alsthom. The cars were built in France from 1986 to 1988 and shipped through New York Harbor. Of the cars in the fleet, 416 are arranged in four-car sets while the other nine are single cars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R143 (New York City Subway car)</span> Class of New York City Subway car

The R143 is a class of New Technology Train subway cars built by Kawasaki Rail Car Company for the New York City Subway's B Division. Delivered between 2001 and 2003, the cars displaced R40s and R42s that operated on the L service in conjunction with the BMT Canarsie Line's signal system being automated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R11/R34 (New York City Subway car)</span> Retired class of New York City Subway car

The R11 was a prototype class of experimental New York City Subway cars built by the Budd Company in 1949 for the IND/BMT B Division. A total of ten cars were built, arranged as single units. Originally consisting of 400 cars, only ten R11s were built, due to the cancellation of the Second Avenue Subway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bluebird Compartment Car (New York City Subway car)</span> Retired class of New York City Subway car

The Bluebird, formally dubbed Compartment Car by its purchaser, the Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT), was an advanced design PCC streetcar-derived subway and elevated railway car built by the Clark Equipment Company from 1938 to 1940 and used on the New York City Subway system from 1939 to 1955. A total of six units were built, with one prototype and five production units. They were among the last cars to be ordered by the BMT before the city takeover in 1940.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R160 (New York City Subway car)</span> Class of New York City Subway car

The R160 is a class of New Technology Train subway cars built for the New York City Subway's B Division. Entering service between 2006 and 2010, they replaced all R38, R40, and NYCT-operated R44 cars, and most R32 and R42 cars. The R160s are very similar to the earlier R143s and later R179s. The biggest difference between the R160 and R143 is the Flexible Information and Notice Display (FIND) system on the R160s in place of static LED maps on the R143s and all A-Division New Technology fleet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R179 (New York City Subway car)</span> Class of New York City Subway car

The R179 is a class of 318 New Technology Train subway cars built by Bombardier Transportation for the New York City Subway's B Division. Entering service between 2017 and 2020, the cars replaced all remaining R32s and R42s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R211 (New York City Subway car)</span> Class of New York City Subway car

The R211 is a new technology train (NTT) New York City Subway car being built by Kawasaki Railcar Manufacturing for the B Division and the Staten Island Railway (SIR). They will replace two aging subway car models: all R44 cars on the Staten Island Railway and all R46 subway cars. The order is split into three parts: R211A and R211T cars for the subway and R211S cars for the SIR. The R211Ts employ open gangways between cars, a feature not present on current rolling stock. The base order consists of 535 cars, with options for up to 1,077 additional cars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Technology Train</span> Family of New York City Subway cars

New Technology Train (NTT) is the collective term for the modern passenger fleet of the New York City Subway that has entered service since the turn of the 21st century. This includes the current R142, R142A, R143, R160, R179, R188 and R211 models, along with the planned R262 and R268 models. Two prototypes, the R110A and R110B, were used to test the features that would be found on all NTT trains today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Technology of the New York City Subway</span> Overview of the technology of the New York City Subway

Since the late 20th century, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has started several projects to maintain and improve the New York City Subway. Some of these projects, such as subway line automation, proposed platform screen doors, the FASTRACK maintenance program, and infrastructural improvements proposed in 2015–2019 Capital Program, contribute toward improving the system's efficiency. Others, such as train-arrival "countdown clocks", "Help Point" station intercoms, "On the Go! Travel Station" passenger kiosks, wireless and cellular network connections in stations, MetroCard fare payment alternatives, and digital ads, are meant to benefit individual passengers. Yet others, including the various methods of subway construction, do not directly impact the passenger interface, but are used to make subway operations efficient.

References

  1. ↑ "R-110A/R-110B New Technology Program". Nycsubway.org. November 4, 1996. Archived from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved June 6, 2010.
  2. ↑ "Manhattan East Side Transit Alternatives MIS/DEIS Chapter 9D Rail Transit" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 1999. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 16, 2016. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
  3. ↑ "Supplementary Information for §1269(d) 2012 – 2017" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2012. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 14, 2021. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Greller, James Clifford (2011). New York Subway Cars From R-1 To R-160. West Orange, New Jersey: Xplorer Press. ISBN   978-0-9645765-8-2.
  5. ↑ Cudahy, Brian J. (2003). A Century of Subways: Celebrating 100 Years of New York's Underground Railways. New York: Fordham University Press. ISBN   0-8232-2292-6.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Gene Sansone (October 25, 2004). New York Subways: An Illustrated History of New York City's Transit Cars. JHU Press. pp. 273–282. ISBN   978-0-8018-7922-7.
  7. ↑ Patton, Phil (September 16, 1999). "Wider Americans Demand Wider Seats". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on August 30, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
  8. ↑ Lewine, Edward (September 8, 1996). "F.Y.I." The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on August 30, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
  9. ↑ "A look at the 20 Year Needs: Articulated trains". Second Ave. Sagas. October 4, 2013. Archived from the original on July 14, 2016. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
  10. ↑ "Why Don't We Get Articulated Trainsets?". April 13, 2009. Archived from the original on February 6, 2016. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
  11. 1 2 Seaton, Charles (December 6, 2006). "New York City Bringing Rail Into the 21st Century". Metro Magazine . Archived from the original on February 3, 2016. Retrieved January 27, 2016.
  12. ↑ Sims, Calvin (May 9, 1990). "For This Project, Subway Cars Are the Stuff of Dreams". The New York Times . Archived from the original on February 3, 2016. Retrieved January 24, 2016.
  13. 1 2 "Transit Cooperative Research Program Report 46: The Role of Transit Amenities and Vehicle Characteristics in Building Transit Ridership: Amenities for Transit Handbook and The Transit Design Game Workbook; PART 2: IMPACTS OF AMENITIES" (PDF). Washington, D.C.: Transportation Research Board, Project for Public Spaces, National Academy Press. 1999. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 10, 2016. Retrieved January 24, 2016.
  14. ↑ Pierre-Pierre, Garry (January 22, 1997). "After a Few Suggestions, City Presents Subway Cars With Seats of Amplitude". The New York Times . Archived from the original on February 3, 2016. Retrieved January 24, 2016.
  15. ↑ "MTA | Press Release | MTA Headquarters | The Train of the Future Now a Museum Piece". www.mta.info. Archived from the original on August 16, 2016. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
  16. 1 2 "R-110A/R-110B New Technology Program". Nycsubway.org. November 4, 1996. Archived from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved June 6, 2010.
  17. ↑ Campanile, Carl (July 21, 1999). "New $2m Subway Cars Get Off on the Wrong Track; Exclusive". New York Post. Archived from the original on September 21, 2016. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
  18. ↑ "Capital Program Oversight Committee Meeting June 2014" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. June 23, 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 16, 2016. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
  19. ↑ https://new.mta.info/document/44216 Archived July 16, 2021, at the Wayback Machine PDF page 158
  20. ↑ Negron, Daniel (February 14, 2013). "Showing Image 138752". nycsubway.org. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.