R160 (New York City Subway car)

Description

There are two versions of the R160: the "R160A" (built by Alstom, numbered 8313-8712, 9233-9802, & 9943-9974) and "R160B" (built by Kawasaki, numbered 8713-9232 & 9803-9942). The two car subtypes are nearly identical to each other, and differ only in a few ways. It is possible for them to operate together as needed.

The R160 cars are configured in either four-car sets or five-car sets. 372 R160A cars (8313-8652 & 9943-9974) are configured as four-car sets. Most of the four-car trains are maintained at East New York Yard for the BMT Eastern Division (J/Z, L, and M); the others are maintained at the 207th Street Yard for the C. The remaining 630 R160A cars and all R160Bs are configured as five-car sets for use on IND and BMT main line services. Some are maintained at Jamaica Yard, typically operating on the E and F, and the rest are maintained at the Coney Island Yard, typically operating on the N, Q and W.

The R160A base order was part of a $961,687,121 contract funded in part by a grant from the Federal Transit Administration. The primary base order of the R160 class consisted of 660 cars, 400 R160As to be built by Alstom, and the remaining 260 R160Bs to be built by Kawasaki. The contract included options for further orders, which, if exercised, would have brought total business with NYCT to about US$2.4 billion, for 1,700 subway cars, and Kawasaki would have manufactured 40% (680 cars) of the 1,700 cars. The R160 fleet was purchased at an average cost of $1.28 million USD per car.

Features

The R160 cars are equipped with the latest control system, HVAC and public address system to improve passenger comfort and safety. The R160s are very similar to the R143s, however the two car types can not be interchanged with each other.

One of the major changes and highlights of the new cars is the addition of an electronic "FIND" (Flexible Information and Notice Display) system, which includes an LCD screen displaying the route, route information and advertisements, and a tri-color (red, yellow, green) LED strip map which displays the next ten stations, plus five consecutive "further stops" to riders. There are three of these in every car. The display updates the stations at every stop, also giving the number of stops to each station listed. The FIND system replaces a plastic card which had a set route and stations printed on, which was used on the R142, R142A, R143, and R188 subway cars, each of which has 63 (001 thru 063) amber LED dots type station indicators. This allows for instant route or line changes with the correct information, which includes, but is not limited to, the omitting of certain stops.

Both the R160As and R160Bs come with provisions for the future installation for CBTC. Currently, 68 R160As (8313-8380) have been retrofitted with CBTC equipment for operation on the L route alongside trains of CBTC-equipped R143 cars.

Experimental

R160As 9798-9802 have experimental looped stanchions with double poles in their center segments, instead of the typical single poles seen in other cars. These looped stanchions are meant to provide twice as many riders with poles to hold onto than in regular cars.

In June 2016, the MTA began installing Wi-Fi in four R160s assigned to the Jamaica Yard. In-car Wi-Fi was expanded to 20 R160s by September. This pilot program was not advertised to passengers. On the Wi-Fi enabled cars, colored stickers were placed above the number plates of each car. It is unclear which cars this test was performed on.

Also in 2016, the interiors of the electronic sign boxes on R160Bs 9023-9027 were retrofitted with LCD screens, replacing the MTA Arts for Transit cards that are usually located there. This is different from the FIND screens in that the new LCD screens are wider and can display advertisements, public safety announcements, and other information (the FIND screens can only display PSAs and the route designation). These screens are similar to the LED screens in the R143s, except that the R160 screens have the capabilities to display multiple colors instead of just red, orange, and green. These LCD signs were later installed in other R160 cars.

For some time in 2010 until 2012, R160Bs 8713-8722 were experimentally equipped with folding seats, video recording devices, pivoted grab handles, and looped stanchions. This was part of a pilot program designed to maximize rush hour standing space and increase capacity by 19%, in addition to increasing security throughout the system. However, due to several complaints from passengers and Kawasaki's refusal to retrofit an R142 with the same features, the pilot program was canceled. These cars would then later have all of these features removed and their interiors reverted to the appearance of most other R160s.

Construction

Kawasaki and Alstom organized a joint venture called Alskaw Inc. for project management, engineering and equipment purchasing to pursue the contract. The two companies built and delivered the rolling stock through the joint venture. Kawasaki not only manufactured 260 cars for the base contract, but was also the engineering leader for the whole project and provided the trucks for all cars. Alstom assembled 1,002 R160A cars at its manufacturing plant in Hornell, New York, while Kawasaki assembled 660 R160B cars at its plant in Yonkers, New York. Shells for the Alstom-built cars were built in their Lapa plant, in São Paulo, Brazil, and shells for the Kawasaki-built cars were assembled at their Lincoln, Nebraska, plant. The base order consisted of 660 cars, the first option included 620 cars, and the second option included 382 cars.

Delivery

Early on in the order, Alstom encountered significant start-up production problems since being awarded the base contract. In July 2005, Alstom missed its contractual deadline to deliver the 10-car test train, which arrived five months late with Alstom requesting three additional months to deliver the test train. In addition, the Transit Authority rejected several car shells made earlier at their plant in Lapa, Brazil, near São Paulo, after discovering welding defects.

The first 5-car set of R160As (8653-8657) was delivered on November 29, 2005, and the next remaining five cars (8658-8662) were delivered on December 6, 2005 to the New York City Transit Authority, forming a complete 10-car train for acceptance testing and evaluation. The R160As entered revenue service on the A on October 17, 2006 for their 30-day acceptance test, after several months of exhaustive non-revenue service tests. The R160A train passed on November 16, 2006, concluding all testing for the R160As.

The first train of R160Bs (8713-8722) was delivered on July 22, 2005. The R160Bs entered revenue service on the N on August 17, 2006 for their 30-day acceptance test, after slightly over a year of successful non-revenue service tests. This train was then transferred to the A on August 20 to continue with its 30-day performance test. The R160B train passed on September 30, 2006, concluding all testing for the R160Bs.

While Kawasaki had no problems in delivering the R160Bs, Alstom was behind on its delivery schedule early on in the R160A order. Alstom was to deliver 200 out of the 400-car base order by September 2007. However, by that month, Alstom had only delivered 80 cars. Under the base contract, Alstom agreed to pay damages of $800 a day for late deliveries of four-car trains, and $1,000 a day for five-car trains, though the Transit Authority had not yet fined Alstom for its late deliveries and was actually negotiating with Alstom to accelerate their delivery schedule. The 200 cars were finally delivered 7 months late in early April.

On November 10, 2008, the MTA exercised options for 140 R160B cars (9803-9942), and 242 R160A cars, broken down into 32 cars arranged as 4-car sets (9943-9974) and 210 cars arranged in 5-car sets (9593-9802). The final cars were delivered on May 6, 2010. The option order cars were delivered starting in late 2009, and by June 2010, all of the R160 cars were in revenue service.

Post-delivery

After Hurricane Sandy, R160B set 8738–8742 was damaged and required an extensive electrical reconstruction at Coney Island Shops. In March 2016, the set underwent pre-service testing and finally returned to service in fall 2016.

In the summers of 2013 and 2014, some four-car R160A sets were temporarily assigned to the C due to passenger complaints, regarding the reliability and quality issues with the R32s on that route. By May 2015, half of the C's fleet was permanently assigned with R160As, leading to more reliable service along that route.

R160As 8313–8316 and 8377–8380 were set up as a test train, and have new CBTC equipment installed, as specifications are developed for the future installation of CBTC on the IND Queens Boulevard Line. The train is often found on the IND Culver Line express tracks between Bergen Street and Church Avenue, which have been set up to test CBTC.