In service 1988-present Constructed 1988-1989 | Family name SMEE | |
 | ||
Manufacturer Kawasaki Heavy Industries Built at Kobe, Japan;
Yonkers, New York (final assembly) Replaced All remaining R10s and R27s, and some R30s. | ||
The R68A is a B Division New York City Subway car order consisting of 200 cars built between 1988 and 1989 by Kawasaki Rail Car Company in Kobe, Japan, with final assembly done at the Kawasaki plant in Yonkers, New York.
Contents
Description
The R68A, numbered 5001-5200, was the fourth R-type contract and the last to be built with 75-foot (22.86 m) length (the previous three being the R44, R46 and R68). While the 75 foot length allows more room for sitting and standing passengers per car than the 60-foot (18.29 m) length that was previously used, 75-foot (22.86 m) cars suffer from clearance issues and cannot run on the BMT Eastern Division. As a result, B Division subway car orders made afterward (like the R143, R160, as well as the future R179 and R211 cars) have returned to the previous length of 60-foot (18.29 m).
Delivery and Revenue Service
The first R68A cars were delivered to New York on April 12, 1988 and transferred to TA facilities the following day. The cars replaced all of the remaining R10s, R27s, and unrebuilt R30s, all of which were retired between 1989 and 1991. The R68As were built with American and Japanese parts.
The R68As' first entry to revenue service was on May 18, 1988 on the Bronx and Manhattan half of the divided D train with the first fleet consisting of the consist 5010-5001-5006-5008-5009-5007-5004-5005. Originally, the R68A order was supposed to be a second option order of the R68. However, due to poor performance from the R68 cars produced by Westinghouse-Amrail along with other issues, the MTA gave the order to Kawasaki, with an offer of $958,000 per car versus Westinghouse-Amrail's offer of $1,012,200 per car.
The R68As are currently based out of the Coney Island Yard and are assigned to the B train with one set assigned to the A train during weekday afternoon rush hours.
Replacement
The R68As are scheduled to remain in service until at least 2025 and the MTA is proposing mid-life technological upgrades for the fleet, including LED destination signs and automated announcements.