R68 (New York City Subway car)

R68 (New York City Subway car)
An R68 train on the at Bay Parkway (BMT West End Line).
Interior of an R68 car.
In service	1986-present
Manufacturer	Westinghouse Amrail Company: Westinghouse, ANF Industrie (all cars) Jeumont Schneider (2500-2724), Alsthom (2725-2924)
Replaced	Many R10s, remaining R16s, many R27s, and some R30s
Constructed	1986–1988
Number built	425
Number in service	425 (344 in revenue service during rush hours)
Formation	2500–2915 (416 cars) are linked into 4 car units 2916–2924 (9 cars) remain as single units with OPTO switches added
Fleet numbers	2500–2924
Capacity	70 (seated)
Operator(s)	New York City Subway
Depot(s)	Concourse Yard, Coney Island Yard[1]
Service(s) assigned	– 48 cars  – 240 cars  – 52 cars  – 8 cars (AM rush)  – 8 cars (AM rush)  – 4 cars
Specifications
Car body construction	Stainless steel with fiberglass end bonnets
Train length	2 car train: 150 feet (46 m) 4 car train: 300 feet (91 m) 8 car train: 600 feet (180 m)
Car length	75 ft (22.86 m)
Width	10 ft (3,048 mm)
Height	12.08 ft (3,682 mm)
Platform height	3.76 ft (1.15 m)
Doors	8
Maximum speed	55 mph (89 km/h)
Weight	92,720 lb (42,057 kilograms)
Traction system	AdTranz E-Cam Propulsion Westinghouse 1447J motors 115 hp (85.8 kW) on all axles
Prime mover(s)	electric motor
Electric system(s)	600 V DC Third rail
Current collection method	Contact shoe
Braking system(s)	New York Air Braking (NYAB) GSX23 Newtran "SMEE" braking system, NYAB tread brake rigging model TBU190
Safety system(s)	emergency brakes
Coupling system	Westinghouse H2C
Headlight type	halogen light bulbs
Track gauge	4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge

The R68 is a B Division New York City Subway car order consisting of 425 cars built by the Westinghouse Amrail Company, a joint venture of Westinghouse, ANF Industrie, Jeumont Schneider, and Alsthom. The cars were built in France from 1986 to 1988 and shipped through New York Harbor. The cars cost about $1 million each and they replaced many R10s dating from 1948, all remaining 6300-series R16s dating from 1954 to 1955, and some R27s and R30s dating from 1960 to 1962.

Overview

The R68 was the third R-type contract to be built with 75-foot (22.86 m) cars (the previous two being the R44 and R46), which have more room for sitting and standing passengers per car than the 60-foot (18.29 m) cars that were used previously and afterward.

The R68's manufacturers suffered from significant system integration problems. Poor communication and coordination between the carbody builder (ANF Industrie) and the chassis assembler (Westinghouse) led to operational failures. Due to this, the R68's became known as a lemon. During the beginning of service, the R68s had problems with malfunctioning doors, and the fleet had a high breakdown rate. Another problem occurred on November 11, 1986 when a train of R68s failed to climb the grade on the Manhattan Bridge. However, extensive work performed by the New York City Transit Authority provided solutions to the fleet's many problems.^[2]

The delivery of the first R68s was made on February 4, 1986, but it failed to pass a sharp curve on the South Brooklyn Railway trackage on 38th Street in Brooklyn, and as a result the curve had to be rebuilt and the radius eased somewhat, and the delivery took place on February 26, 1986. The 30 day acceptance test for the R68s began on the Brighton Line on April 13, 1986. The R68s first entry to revenue service was on June 20, 1986 on the Brooklyn half of the divided D train with the first fleet consisting of cars 2500-2507.^[3] There were two contracts to supply the R68 fleet. The primary order consisted of cars 2500-2724 while the R68-1 option order consisted of cars 2725-2924. The MTA was given an option to order an additional 200 subway cars from Westinghouse-Amrail, but due to problems from the manufacturer, the MTA gave the order to Kawasaki.^[2] This order became the R68A.

R68s are based out of the Concourse Yard in the Bronx and the Coney Island Complex in Brooklyn and assigned to the B, D, G, and Franklin Avenue Shuttle with occasional service on the N and Q. The R68s that operate on the Franklin Avenue Shuttle have some noticeable differences from the main line cars. These cars have permanent side signs instead of rollsigns, remain set up as single units with OPTO switches added (unlike the rest of the R68s, which have been configured into sets of four), and car 2923 has three-piece side windows.

Replacement

The R68s are scheduled to remain in service until at least 2025^[4] and the MTA is proposing mid-life technological upgrades for the fleet including LED destination signs and automated announcements. However, it is unlikely that these improvements will be implemented in the near future.^[5]

Differences between R68s and R68As

Although the R68 and R68As look similar to each other, there are a few differences between the two car types.

• The Westinghouse Amrail Company built the R68s, while Kawasaki built the R68As.
• The door to the operator's cab slides open on an R68A as opposed to swinging open on an R68.
• The R68 and R68A fleets have different window frames.
• Unlike the R68s, the R68As do not feature rims around the red door indicator lights.
• The "MTA New York City Subway" logos are arranged differently between the two car types.
• The side ribbing runs all the way to the car ends and side doors on an R68, but taper off on approach on an R68A.
• Only the R68s have a metal bar separating the side sign from window, while the R68A has one solid pane of glass.
• The R68s have unit numbers in the 2000-series while the R68As have numbers in the 5000-series.
• Door lights at the end of the R68 cars, by the storm doors, point towards the other end of the car, while on the R68As, they point down to the seat.

See also

• R68A (New York City Subway car) - a similar car model built by Kawasaki of Japan

References

1. New York Subway Barn Assignments. December 2014
2. Levine, Richard (February 24, 1987). "Transit Authority Is Critical of its Newest Subway Cars". New York Times. Retrieved January 24, 2016.
3. "www.nycsubway.org: The New York Transit Authority in the 1980s". www.nycsubway.org. Retrieved 2016-01-24.
4. MTA Capital Program Oversight Committee Hearing, June 2010 (page 20)
5. Request For Information No. 9003 | Integrated Communications System on NYCT R62/R62A and R68/R68A Class Rail Cars

Further reading

• Sansone, Gene. Evolution of New York City subways: An illustrated history of New York City's transit cars, 1867-1997. New York Transit Museum Press,New York, 1997 ISBN 978-0-9637492-8-4

External links

• nycsubway.org - R68 page information
• NYC Subway Car Datasheet
• BMT-IND Car Assignments - December 6, 2015
• New York City Subway Car Fleet June 2010 through December 2015