R142A (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.[8] 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.
Not to be confused with R142 (New York City Subway car) or R143 (New York City Subway car).R142A
2000–present
- Yonkers, New York, US
- Lincoln, Nebraska, US
- Kobe, Hyōgo, Japan
- July 10, 2000 (revenue service testing)
- November 2, 2000 (official service)
R188s: 2010–2016
(cars 7211–7590 only)
600
220 (180 in revenue service during rush hours)
(380 in revenue service as R188s)
5-car sets (2 A cars and 3 B cars)
7211–7810 (as built)
7591–7810 (currently, after R188 conversion)
176 (A car)
188 (B car)
Stainless steel with fiberglass end bonnets
513 ft 4 in (156.46 m)
51 ft 4 in (15.65 m)[7]
8 ft 7+3⁄16 in (2,621 mm)
11 ft 10+5⁄8 in (3,623 mm)
3 ft 7+3⁄4 in (1.11 m)
3 ft 7+3⁄4 in (1.11 m)
Level
6 sets of 54 inch wide side doors per car
55 mph (89 km/h) Service
66 mph (110 km/h) Design
73,300 lb (33,200 kg) (A car)
67,800 lb (30,800 kg) (B car)
PWM 2-level IGBT–VVVF (Bombardier MITRAC)
2 or 4[a] × Bombardier 1508C 150 hp (111.855 kW) 3-phase AC induction motor
2,100 hp (1,565.970 kW) (5-car set)
2.5 mph/s (4.0 km/(h⋅s))
3.0 mph/s (4.8 km/(h⋅s)) (full service)
3.2 mph/s or 5.1 km/(h⋅s) (emergency)
SAFT 195 AH battery (B car)
Dynamic/Regenerative braking propulsion system; WABCO RT-96 tread brake system
4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
The first R142As were delivered on December 20, 1999. The cars initially experienced minor issues while undergoing testing, but entered service on July 10, 2000, as part of its 30-day revenue acceptance test. After successful completion, the cars entered revenue service by November 2, 2000.[9] The fleet initially ran on the 4 and 6 services of the IRT Lexington Avenue Line. The R142As, along with the R142s, are the first New York City Subway cars to feature recorded announcements. In 2010–2016, 380 cars (7211–7590) were retrofitted with communications-based train control (CBTC) for the automation of the Flushing Line and became part of the R188 fleet, leaving 220 cars (7591–7810) in the R142A fleet. In January 2019, the MTA has proposed mid-life upgrades to the remainder of the R142As.
Description[edit]
The R142As are numbered 7591–7810. They were originally numbered 7211–7810 when built, but cars 7211–7590 were converted into R188s.[10][11][12]
The R142A contract was divided into three sub-orders: 400 main order cars (7211–7610), 120 option order cars (7611–7730), and 80 cars built under a supplemental contract (R142S) in 2004–2005[2][1] to supplement the R142As (7731–7810). Regardless of sub-order differences, all R142As are mechanically and physically identical to each other.[13]
Currently, all R142As are maintained at the Jerome Yard and assigned to the 4.[14][15]
History[edit]
Delivery[edit]
The first ten R142As, 7211–7220, were delivered on December 20, 1999.[22] The cars were placed into service on the 6 on July 10, 2000, as part of its 30-day revenue acceptance test, after several months of non-revenue service testing and the resolving of all issues.[23][24] After successful completion, it entered revenue service on November 2, 2000.[25] The R142A fleet originally only ran on the 6; the first R142As assigned to the 4 started running on July 25, 2002.[26]
During delivery, there were minor issues reported with the R142s and the R142As.[27]
By October 29, 2002, all R142As would have entered passenger service.
In mid-2003, the MTA purchased a supplemental order of 80 additional R142As (7731–7810) for service increases.[28] These cars were constructed and delivered in 2004–2005, and by June 2005, all were in service.
Post-delivery[edit]
Cars 7211–7590 (a total of 380 cars) have been retrofitted with CBTC for the Flushing Line CBTC service and were converted to R188s.[10][11][12] The first R142As (7211–7220) were sent out to the Kawasaki Rail Car plant in Yonkers in 2011 for conversion to R188s.[29][30] The last R142As (7581–7590) to be sent to the Kawasaki Rail Car plant were removed from service on March 18, 2016, and by the next month had also been sent to the plant.[31]
Cars 7591–7810 (the remaining 220 cars) are still part of the R142A fleet and will be retrofitted with CBTC hardware in the future.[32]: 24 To prepare for the arrival of the R62As for use on the 6 train, 65 unconverted R142As (7591–7595 & 7611–7670) were transferred from the 6 to the 4 in November 2017,[33] and the last 15 R142As (7596–7610) were transferred from the 6 to the 4 on May 22, 2018.[34]
In January 2019, the MTA proposed mid-life upgrades to several train subsystems in the R142 and R142A fleets. These included changes to the HVAC, propulsion, and door systems, based on installations of these systems in the R188 fleet. Upgrades also included the conversion of the remaining R142A fleet to be compatible with communications-based train control, in conjunction with subway signal upgrades along the IRT Lexington Avenue Line and IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line.[35][32]: 24
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