New Technology Train

The typical NTT car design for the A Division (top; an R142) and B Division (bottom; an R160).

New Technology Train (NTT)[1][2][3] is the collective term for the modern passenger fleet of the New York City Subway entering service since the turn of the 21st Century. This includes the current R142, R142A, R143, R160, and R188 models, the R179 model currently under construction, and the planned R211 model. Sometimes referred to as New Millennium Trains,[4] they are known for improvements in technology, energy efficiency, reliability, and comfort along with advanced passenger information systems. Much of the engineering and construction efforts for the fleet have been done by Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Bombardier Transportation.

History

The interior of an R160 in 2010.

The New Technology program emerged from modernization efforts by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) beginning in 1982, when the subway "was on the verge of collapse".[5][6][7] The New Technology program officially began in 1988, the first effort at a technologically-advanced subway car since the R44 in the early 1970s.[8] In 1989, the MTA awarded contracts for two prototype test trains: 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.[1][5] The two New Technology test trains (NTTTs)[9] began service in June 1993, testing features that would be implemented on future mass-production orders.[5][8][10]

In 1997, the first mass order of New Technology trains was placed for the R142 and R142A trains of the A Division (awarded to Bombardier and Kawasaki respecitvely), in order to replace the final 1,410 Redbird cars in operation.[10][11] In 1998, a smaller contract of 212 cars, consisting of 100 in the base order and 112 in the optional order, was awarded to Kawasaki Heavy Industries, to build the R143 model for the B Division's BMT Eastern Division (primarily the BMT Canarsie Line's L train).[12] The first R142s and R142As entered service beginning in July 2000.[2][13][14] The R143s began operation in February 2002.[15][16]

In July 2002, the MTA awarded contracts to Kawasaki and Alstom Transportation for the R160 order for the B Division, with options for up to 1,700 cars to replace many 1960s- and 1970s-era cars.[17][15][9][18] The first R160 train, built by Kawasaki under the contract R160B, began service on August 17, 2006, on the N.[19] The initial 660-car base order was filled by October 2008, with a total of 1,662 cars delivered by May 6, 2010.[2][20]

On May 5, 2010, Kawasaki was awarded the contract for the R188 A Division order, to provide 46 CBTC-ready 11-car trains for the IRT Flushing Line (7 <7> trains). Unlike the other orders, the R188 constructed only 126 new subway cars, with the remaining 380 cars consisting of converted R142As.[20][21][22]

On June 4, 2012, Bombardier was awarded the R179 contract for 300 new B Division cars, replacing the 50 R42s on the BMT Jamaica Line (J Z trains).[20][21][23] In December of 2012, preliminary designs began on the R211 B Division contract, which entails 940 cars in order to expand the system fleet, and to replace the R46 fleet and the R44 fleet of the Staten Island Railway; both models were built in the 1970s.[21] Both the R179 and R211 orders are planned to replace the 222 remaining R32 cars, which were built in the 1960s and have run well past their expected lives, by the year 2022.[24][24][25] The first R188s entered service on November 9, 2013.[22] The R179 order fell significantly behind schedule, with the first test train expected in June 2016, while the R211 contract is expected to be awarded in 2017.[20][21]

Design and features

Driver's cab of an R160B subway car on an N train

The NTT models utilize a common car design; stainless-steel car bodies with a black front fascia on the "A" (cab) cars, open lexan-glass non-cab ends, and electronic outer route signs, as opposed to the rollsigns used by previous models. The cars feature a white fiberglass interior with blue-gray plastic bench seats both to combat vandalism, along with bright fluorescent lighting and LED interior passenger information signs. The bench-style seats, designed with lumbar supports, also replaced the unpopular bucket-style seats used on rolling stock built in the 1970s and '80s. The trains utilize an airbag suspension (replacing conventional springs) for a more comfortable ride, and employ regenerative braking which converts the energy from brake application into electricity that is fed back into the third rail. All NTT trains are capable of being equipped with communications-based train control (CBTC) technology, which is installed in the "A" cars behind the motorman's cab.[1][4][8][21][10][26][17][15][27] Only the R143s and R188s, as well as sixty-four R160s, have been upgraded for automated service, on the L and 7 routes.[21][9][28]

Recorded announcements

The NTTs are the first rolling stock in the system to utilize pre-recorded train announcements, as opposed to live conductor announcements. The recorded announcements are used for station information, closing doors, and other general messages. Station announcements rely on a wheel-rotation counter to make accurate stop announcements.[29] The recordings began in the late 1990s and feature Bloomberg Radio on-air speakers, who volunteered at the request of their employer Michael Bloomberg, who would later become mayor of New York City.[30] Voices include Jessica Ettinger Gottesman, Diane Thompson, Charlie Pellett, Catherine Cowdery, Annie Bergen, and Melissa Kleiner.[30][31] Female voices are typically used for station, route and transfer announcements. Pellett's recordings are used for most of the remaining announcements, most notably "Stand clear of the closing doors, please" prior to train doors closing.[30][31][32] With regards to why certain messages are voiced by males and others by females, MTA spokesperson Gene Sansone said in 2006 that, "Most of the orders are given by a male voice, while informational messages come from females. Even though this happened by accident, it is a lucky thing because a lot of psychologists agree that people are more receptive to orders from men and information from women".[31][33] Manual announcements can still be made over the public address system by train operators and conductors.[10][29]

Electronic strip maps

The R142/R142As, R143s, and R188s feature electronic strip maps. These maps utilize a total of 63 amber LED lights, numbered 001–063, to display stops, with a plastic card on top showing the route, stations, and transfers. A light will flash when a stop is being approached, and while idle at that stop. Lights turned off indicate a stop already reached, or a part of the route not serviced on that particular trip.[1][5][17] LED arrows at either end of the map indicate the direction of service.[34] Electronic strip maps were first tested on the R110A and R110B in the 1990s.[5][10] While an upgrade from static route maps, the strip maps can only facilitate one service and must be turned off when a train is used on another route;[26] this problem is frequently observed on the 2 and 5 trains, which both use R142 cars from the East 180th Street and 239th Street Yards and have large amounts of route overlap on the IRT White Plains Road Line, IRT Eastern Parkway Line, and IRT Nostrand Avenue Line.[34] To solve this problem, the MTA began replacing the individual strip maps for the 2 and 5 routes in 2016, with combined strip maps showing both services.[34]

FIND displays

The R160s, as will the future R179s and R211s, employ an advanced alternative to strip maps, called the Flexible Information and Notice Display, or FIND. This includes an LCD screen displaying the route, route information, and advertisements, as well as a dynamic red, yellow, and green LED strip map that 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. This allows for instant route or line changes with the correct information, which includes, but is not limited to, omitting certain stops (displayed as "Will not stop" in red).[8][21][26]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Sims, Calvin (May 9, 1990). "For This Project, Subway Cars Are the Stuff of Dreams". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 "New Technology Train Rolled Out This Morning Along the E Line". Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York). December 22, 2008. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  3. ↑ "The MTA 2006 ANNUAL REPORT: Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the Year Ended December 31, 2006 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the Year Ended December 31, 2006" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York). May 1, 2007. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
  4. 1 2 "New York City Transit and the Environment". Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York). Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "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. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  6. ↑ Chan, Sewell (2005-07-27). "Damaged Cars Hinder New York's Order for New Subways". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-08-30.
  7. ↑ "A Review of the Proposed Capital Program for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority" (PDF). Office of the New York State Comptroller. September 2009. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Seaton, Charles (December 6, 2006). "New York City Bringing Rail Into the 21st Century". Metro Magazine. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  9. 1 2 3 Gene Sansone (25 October 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.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 Pierre-Pierre, Garry (January 22, 1997). "After a Few Suggestions, City Presents Subway Cars With Seats of Amplitude". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  11. ↑ "Second Avenue Subway Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS); Chapter 2: Project Alternatives" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York), Federal Transit Administration, United States Department of Transportation. April 2003. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  12. ↑ "Metro Business; Subway Job to Kawasaki". The New York Times. December 30, 1998.
  13. ↑ "New York City Transit - History and Chronology". Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York). Archived from the original on 2014-01-08. Retrieved 12 March 2007.
  14. ↑ Siegal, Nina (October 1, 2000). "NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT: NEW YORK UNDERGROUND; 2 New Trains in the Subways: Catch Them if You Can". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  15. 1 2 3 Kennedy, Randy (July 31, 2002). "1,700 Subway Cars to Be Built Under Largest Such Contract in New York History". The New York Times. p. B3.
  16. ↑ "Kawasaki completes NYCT R143 order. (Market).(New York City Transit)(subway cars contract)". Railway Age (HighBeam Research). March 1, 2003.
  17. 1 2 3 Press Release (July 31, 2002). "MTA NYC TRANSIT AWARDS NEW CAR CONTRACT". Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York). Archived from the original on 2006-02-03. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  18. ↑ "Subway contract won with help from Brazil". Railway Gazette International. January 1, 2003. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  19. ↑ Lueck, Thomas J. (August 18, 2006). "City Subways Put New Cars Into Service as a Test Run". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  20. 1 2 3 4 "Capital Program Oversight Committee Meeting: October 2012" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York). October 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-11-02. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  21. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "MTA Capital Program Oversight Committee Meeting: January 2016" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. January 2016. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
  22. 1 2 "MTA | news | New Subway Cars Being Put to the Test". New.mta.info. 2013-11-18. Retrieved 2014-08-24.
  23. ↑ R179 Staff Summary
  24. 1 2 "Review of the A and C Lines" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York). December 11, 2015. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  25. ↑ Rivoli, Dan (August 13, 2015). "Ancient subway trains on C and J/Z lines won't be replaced until 2022, documents say". Daily News (New York). Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  26. 1 2 3 Chan, Sewell (2005-11-30). "New Subway Cars Promise All Kinds of Information". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-10-27.
  27. ↑ "Feasibility Study of On-Car Regenerative Braking System (RBS) for Electric Rail Applications Final Report" (PDF). ny.gov. New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. January 11, 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  28. ↑ "Volume 2, Part 3 - November 2008 MTA Financial Plan: Section IV-3 and section IV-12" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York). Retrieved 2013-08-19.
  29. 1 2 Biederman, Marcia (December 12, 2002). "For Subway Riders, a Sense of Place". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  30. 1 2 3 "The voice behind the closing doors would like to clear something up.". nypress.com. Straus News. March 18, 2003. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  31. 1 2 3 "GUIDED BY SUBTERRANEAN VOICES". whosevoice.com. January 4, 2010. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  32. ↑ Shaweddy, Vici (January 11, 2013). "Charlie Pellett - The Voice of New York Subway". Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  33. ↑ AM New York (September 25, 2006): "Voices Down Below", by Justin Rocket Silverman
  34. 1 2 3 "New Interior Electronic Strip Maps Coming to Subway Cars on 2 5 Lines". Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York). February 12, 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2016.

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