R188 (New York City Subway car)

"R188" redirects here. For the road, see Route 188.
R188 (New York City Subway car)

An R188 train running on the local, departing Queensboro Plaza, bound for Flushing – Main Street.
In service 2013-present
Manufacturer Kawasaki Rail Car Company
Built at Yonkers, New York, US and
Kobe, Hyōgo, JP
Family name R100-R199 R type contract series, NTT (new technology train)
Replaced all R62As on the (reassigned to the , not scrapped)
Constructed 2011–2016
Entered service 2013–present
Number built 506 (126 new cars, 380 conversions)
Number in service 462 (308 in revenue service during rush hours)
Formation 5-car sets (A-C-B-B-A)
6-car sets (A-C-B-B-B-A)
Fleet numbers Conversion Sets: 7211-7590
New Sets: 7811-7898
New "C" Cars: 7899-7936
Capacity 176 (A car)
188 (B & C cars)
Operator(s) New York City Subway
Depot(s) Corona Yard[1]
Service(s) assigned  – 297 cars
Specifications
Car body construction Stainless steel with fiberglass end bonnets
Train length 11 car train: 564.63 feet (172.10 m)
Car length 51.33 feet (15.65 m)
Width 8.60 feet (2,621 mm)
Height 11.89 feet (3,624 mm)
Platform height 3.6458 ft (1.11 m)
Doors 6 per car
Maximum speed 55 mph (89 km/h) Service
70 mph (110 km/h) Design
Weight "A" car: 73,332 pounds (33,263 kg)
"B" and "C" cars: 67,721 pounds (30,718 kg)
Traction system Bombardier MITRAC propulsion system,
3-Phase AC Traction Motors Model 1508C
Prime mover(s) electric motor
Power output 150 hp (111.855 kW) per motor axle
4,500 hp (3,355.649 kW) per 11 car train
Acceleration 2.5 mph/s (1.1 m/s2)
Deceleration 2.5 mph/s (1.1 m/s2)
(full service),
3.2 mph/s (1.4 m/s2) (emergency)
Power supply Third rail
Electric system(s) 625 V DC
Current collection method Contact shoe
Braking system(s) Dynamic braking propulsion system; tread brake system
Safety system(s) emergency brakes
Track gauge 4 ft 8 12 in (1,435 mm)

The R188 is an A Division new technology (NTT) car for the New York City Subway. The MTA is displacing the R62As from the 7 <7> services with these cars to automate the IRT Flushing Line. The R188 is part of both the fourth and fifth generation of New York City Subway A Division rolling stock; many fourth-generation R142As are being converted to R188s, along with deliveries of new R188 cars.

In addition to providing six extra 11-car trains for the 7 Subway Extension, the R188s will allow twenty R62A cars to be freed up for the other IRT services.

Timeline and composition of trainsets

All planned
orders
# of conversion cars # of new C cars # of new A & B cars
Total Total Total
Main
order
Option
order
Main
order
Option
order
Main
order
Option
order
Original order[2] 140 46 320[note 1]
10 130 3 43 20 300
2010–2014
Capital
Program[3]
360 46 100
10 350 3 43 20 80
Modification[4] 380 46 80
10 370 3 43 20 60

At the time that the R188 order was placed, forty R62A 11-car trainsets were assigned to the 7 service. The R188 order originally consisted of 186 new cars, as well as 131 converted R142A cars compatible with communication-based train control (CBTC) and an additional 189 R142A conversion kits for MTA, totaling a possible 506 cars, or in other words, 46 11-car trains. Given this number, it can be deduced that 230 of these cars will be arranged in 5-car sets while the remaining 276 cars will be arranged in 6-car sets.[2] Six extra R188 trainsets were ordered in conjunction with CBTC installation and 7 Subway Extension.

According to the 2010–2014 capital plan, 146 new cars were to be purchased. Of these new cars, 110 cars would go to make up 10 new 11-car trains, while the remaining 36 cars were to be "C" cars that would go to expanding 36 CBTC upgraded R142A 5-car sets (360 existing cars) to 6-car length. The original planned total of 46 11-car trains (506 cars) would still result from this order.[3]

In the latest revision, however, only 88 new cars were to be purchased to form 8 new 11-car trains, with 38 "C" cars, rather than ten 11-car trains. Likewise, the number of conversion cars was altered to 370. This change was made with the knowledge that only two ten-car R62A growth sets for the mainline IRT would be needed, as opposed to the projected four sets, and thus the MTA and Kawasaki opted to convert two additional R142A train sets in place of manufacturing two new sets. The MTA also decided to have Kawasaki perform all of the conversions at the Yonkers plant instead of 207th Street Shop as part of that contract modification.[4]

Contract

R188s 7811-7821 testing on the IRT Dyre Avenue Line at Gun Hill Road
R188 destination sign
Interior of an R188 subway car.

The R188 contract was awarded in spring 2010 to Kawasaki Heavy Industries, who won by default since only two manufacturers qualified and Bombardier Transportation opted not to bid on the contract citing the small order and large requirement for engineering resources. The contract was specified at $87,094,272 for the base order, which consisted of 33 cars (23 new cars and 10 conversions), and $384,315,168 for the option order, which consisted of 473 cars (123 new cars, and 350 conversions) for a total price of $471,409,440.

According to a February 2012 update, the MTA had expected to have 8 conversion sets in service by the time that the 7 Subway Extension is opened for revenue service. In addition, the breakdown of the trainsets has been disclosed. Operationally, the R188s are coupled as such: A-C-B-B-A+A-B-B-B-C-A; where dashes signify link bars and the addition sign denotes couplers. Thirty-eight R142A B cars, therefore, will be converted into R188 "C" cars, in addition to the 38 deliveries of new "C" cars (not including the "C" cars in the eight new 11-car sets).[5]

Revenue service

The 10 converted R142A cars from the base order (numbers 7211-7220) were completed in December 2011 at Kawasaki's Yonkers facility, and were delivered for testing on the Flushing line in 2012. The 23 new cars from the base order (numbered 7811-7832 and 7899, which is the 'C' car for the conversion cars) were completed in mid-2012, delivered in November 2013, and entered service in December 2013. The new 66 option cars (numbers 7833-7898) were also completed in mid-2012 and have been delivered, while the remaining 37 new cars and the 370 conversions are currently being converted and delivered since February 2014 until the 4th quarter of 2015.[6][7] By July 2014, the delivery schedule had slipped by about 6–7 months, with the final train predicted to be delivered in July 2016.[8]

On November 9, 2013, the first R188 train, consisting of cars 7811-7821, were placed in service on the 7 train as part of its 30-day revenue acceptance test.[9] After successful completion, it entered revenue service by December 15, 2013. As of November 23, 2015, a total of 35 trains have been conditionally accepted (the 8 new train sets and the first 27 conversion sets).[8]

The announcements on the R188 cars were originally by Annie Bergen. These were produced along with the recorded announcements for the other IRT Services prior to the delivery of the R142 and R142As. However, portions of her original recordings were re-recorded by either Catherine Cowdery or Kathleen Campion, the voices of the R143 and R160 car announcements, respectively. Bergen's voice still remains, albeit spliced in between the latter two's recordings. The original LED/LCD sign display programs and recordings existed on the R142s and R142As but were never used.

All remaining R188 cars are are expected to be delivered by the end of July 2016.[10]

Differences Between the R142As and R188s

There are a few differences between the R142As and R188s, even though they look and sound the same.

See also

Notes

  1. This was the total of 131 converted R142A cars compatible with communication-based train control (CBTC) and an additional 189 R142A conversion kits. The option order of 473 cars was broken down as follows: 163 new R188 cars, conversion of 124 R142/R142A cars, and providing 186 conversion kits of R142/R142As.

References

External links

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