New York City’s newest train model was unveiled in Brooklyn Thursday — and the faster cars will provide a “dramatic upgrade” to subway services across the city, the MTA vowed.
The R211s, built in Nebraska by Japanese manufacturer Kawasaki, will replace the 46-year-old R46 model in 2022, officials said.
The new car comes equipped with modern signal tech that the MTA says allows faster train service.
“This is a dramatic upgrade to our ability to really service New Yorkers with more capacity and more trains,” MTA exec Janno Lieber said, before he and New York City Transit Authority officials whisked the cars off to a railyard in Coney Island for testing.
But the R211’s speed benefits don’t just come from signals, said Demetrius Crichlow, acting vice president for subways. Wider doors could reduce the amount of time trains spend stopped at stations by 25 or 30 percent.
“That will speed up time getting on and off the train,” Crichlow said. “You won’t have to wait for a while while you’re boarding.”
The train’s exterior has a bold blue streak next to a parallel yellow-black line. The front face is entirely blue, with a screen to tell riders the train’s destination.
Keith Sylvan, 18, of the Upper West Side, stood outside the fence at Thursday’s event with about a dozen other rail fans. He told The Post he’d been following the R211’s development since design planning began nine years ago.
“They look almost futuristic,” Sylvan said. “They look like something straight out of the 21st century.”
The $1.4 billion order also includes 20 “open gangway” trains, in which all the cars are linked via one long passage.
“They look almost futuristic … like something straight out of the 21st century.”
Keith Sylvan, 18, of the Upper West Side
Officials have the option to purchase 1,600 more if the first 535-car batch works out.
The authority’s most recent subway car order has been plagued by mechanical deficiencies — including one frightening snafu in which a train’s doors remained open 4 inches between stations.
