The R142 is the first mass-produced model class of the newest generation or new technology (NTT) A Division cars for the New York City Subway. It was built by Bombardier Transportation in La Pocatière, Quebec, Canada and Barre, Vermont, U.S. with final assembly performed at Plattsburgh, New York, from 1999 to 2003.[6] There are 880 cars numbered 6301–7180 and another 150 cars numbered 1101–1250, for a total of 1,030 cars, all arranged as five-car sets. Together with the R142As, they replaced the Redbird trains, including the R26, R28, R29, R33, R33S, and R36.
| R142 | |
|---|---|
 An R142 train on the 2 line entering East 180th Street | |
 Interior of an R142 car | |
| In service | 2000–present |
| Manufacturer | Bombardier Transportation |
| Built at | La Pocatière, Quebec, Canada + Barre, Vermont, US (final assembly: Plattsburgh, New York, US) |
| Family name | NTT (new technology train) |
| Replaced | All Redbirds (R26–R36) |
| Constructed | 1999–2003 |
| Entered service |
|
| Number built | 1,030 |
| Number in service | 1,025 (870 in revenue service during rush hours) |
| Formation | 5-car sets (2 A cars and 3 B cars) |
| Fleet numbers | 6301–7180 1101–1250 |
| Capacity | 176 (A car) 188 (B car) |
| Operators | New York City Subway |
| Depots | East 180th Street Yard (410 cars) 239th Street Yard (410 cars) Jerome Yard (205 cars)[1][2] |
| Service(s) assigned |    [3][4]As of June 30, 2024 |
| Specifications | |
| Car body construction | Stainless steel with fiberglass top end bonnets (some R142s use stainless steel bonnets) |
| Train length |
|
| Car length | 51 ft 4 in (15.65 m) |
| Width | 8 ft 9+1⁄2 in (2,680 mm) |
| Height | 11 ft 10+2⁄3 in (3,624 mm) |
| Floor height | 3 ft 7+3⁄4 in (1.11 m) |
| Platform height | 3 ft 7+3⁄4 in (1.11 m) |
| Entry | Level |
| Doors | 6 sets of 54 inch wide side doors per car |
| Maximum speed | 55 mph (89 km/h) Service 66 mph (110 km/h) Design |
| Weight | 72,000 pounds (33,000 kg) (A car) 66,300 pounds (30,100 kg) (B car) |
| Traction system | IGBT–VVVF (Alstom ONIX 800) |
| Traction motors | 2 or 4[a] × Alstom 4LCA 1640 147.5 hp (110 kW) 3-phase AC induction motor[5] |
| Power output | 2,065.2 hp (1,540 kW) (5-car set) |
| Acceleration | 2.5 mph/s (4.0 km/(h⋅s)) |
| Deceleration | 3.0 mph/s (4.8 km/(h⋅s)) (full service) 3.2 mph/s or 5.1 km/(h⋅s) (emergency) |
| Auxiliaries | SAFT 195 AH battery (B car) |
| Electric system(s) | Third rail, 625 V DC |
| Current collector(s) | Contact shoe |
| Braking system(s) | Dynamic braking propulsion system; WABCO RT96 tread brake system |
| Safety system(s) | dead man's switch, tripcock |
| Headlight type | Halogen light bulb |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
The R142s and R142As are the first New York City Subway cars to feature recorded announcements. The first R142s were delivered on November 16, 1999, though they initially experienced minor issues that were reported while undergoing testing. Following the completion of non-revenue service testing, the R142s were placed into revenue service on July 10, 2000 as part of its 30-day revenue acceptance test. After successful completion, it entered revenue service on October 20, 2000.[7] The last R142s were delivered by mid-2003. In January 2019, the MTA proposed mid-life upgrades to the R142 fleet.
Description
edit880 of the R142s are numbered 6301–7180, and the remaining 150 cars are numbered 1101–1250.
There are two types of cars: "A" (cab at one end) and "B" (no cabs). "A" cars are powered with four traction motors each, with the passenger doors opposite each other. The "B" cars are powered by two traction motors at the number-two end, and the passenger doors are staggered (car ends are numbered on the lower body just above the truck).[8][9] The trains are linked up in 5-car, A-B-B-B-A sets, but also can be linked in sets of 4 cars (A-B-B-A), 6 cars (A-B-B-B-B-A), 9 cars (one 5-car set and one 4-car set), 10 cars (two 5-car sets), or 11 cars (one 5-car set and one 6-car set).
Currently, most R142s are maintained at the 239th Street Yard and East 180th Street Yard and assigned on the 2 and 5, with the remaining sets maintained at the Jerome Yard and assigned to the 4.
Features
edit
_01_-_To_149th_Street.jpg)
The R142s feature Alstom ONIX AC propulsion systems, electronic braking, automatic climate control, electronic strip maps, and an on-board intercom system; the traction motors of the R142s were later used on the majority of the R160 subway cars when they were first delivered. The R142 and the R142A were partly designed by Antenna Design.[10][11]
Like the R110As, the R142s feature wider doors than past A-Division equipment, with 54-inch (1,372 mm) side doors (about 9 inches (229 mm) narrower than the R110As' 63-inch (1,600 mm) doors, but 4 inches (102 mm) wider than the R62/As' 50-inch (1,270 mm) doors). All car ends have windows, allowing passengers to see through to the next car, except cab ends, where the cab walls prevent such visibility. The R142 car bodies are constructed from stainless steel.[12]
The R142s and R142As are the first New York City Subway cars to feature recorded announcements. All passenger cars built after them also use this feature. Newer, shorter announcements have been tested on some sets on the 2 and 5 since 2015 in an effort to reduce dwell times and subsequently reduce the likelihood of delays,[13] but were later replaced with the standard announcements. The R142s are visually very similar to the R142As and R188s, but due to electrical incompatibilities, the three types are not interoperable.
History
editOn April 30, 1997, the Board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority approved the purchase of 680 cars from Bombardier (the R142s) and 400 cars from Kawasaki (the R142As). The original purchase order was for 740 cars, but because of the intense competition between the firms, the MTA was able to purchase 340 additional cars at the same price. The entire cost of the purchase was $1.45 billion. The new subway cars were based on the results of the tests from the R110A and R110B test trains. The historic deal came after round-the-clock negotiations, and the contract was the largest subway car purchase in the history of the New York City Subway up to this point.[14]
The first ten R142s, 6301–6310, were delivered on November 16, 1999. Minor issues were reported to be found and were corrected during troubleshooting during the testing phase. After several months of non-revenue service testing and troubleshooting of all bugs, the R142s were placed into revenue service on the 2 on July 10, 2000 as part of its 30-day revenue acceptance test. After successful completion, it entered revenue service on October 20, 2000.[15] The last R142s were delivered by March 2003.[16]
_14_-_R142_2_5_Strip_Map.jpg)
Between 2016 and 2018, the MTA replaced the individual strip maps for cars assigned to the 2 and 5 with combined strip maps showing both services, due to the two services having large amounts of route overlap on the IRT White Plains Road, Eastern Parkway, and Nostrand Avenue lines, and because the R142s assigned to the East 180th Street and 239th Street yards are shared between the two routes.[17]
In January 2019, the MTA proposed mid-life upgrades to several train subsystems in the R142 and R142A fleets. These included changes to the HVAC, propulsion, and door systems; the addition of Ethernet on the R142 fleet; and conversion of the fleet to be compatible with communications-based train control (CBTC), in conjunction with subway signal upgrades along the IRT Lexington Avenue Line and IRT Seventh Avenue Line.[18] The R142 fleet would also be retrofitted with a "monitoring and diagnostics system".[19]: 23
In March 2021, the route and destination signs on car 7021 were upgraded to LEDs. The route portion of the sign also received a green circle/red diamond LED for the route display, similar to those on the R62A sets currently used on the 6 service.[b][better source needed] Car 7171 received the same modifications in mid-2021. The upgrades were implemented on more cars in 2024.
Incidents
editOn March 27, 2020, a northbound 2 train with operating lead consist 6346–6350 and trailing consist 6366–6370[20] was set on fire while traveling from 96th Street to Central Park North–110th Street. While the trailing consist was relatively unscathed and eventually returned to service in November 2020,[21] the lead consist suffered extensive damage and was retired. The fire erupted on board car 6347, damaging that car, as well as additional fire and smoke damage to the rest of the set, along with some moderate fire damage to the station as well. As a result, the whole set was taken out of service and stripped for parts.[22][23] The train operator was killed, and 16 people were injured.[24][25] A man accused of setting the fire was arrested and charged with murder in December 2020.[26]
Notes
edit- ^ 4 on A cars, 2 on B & C cars
- ^ See also:
- i has been censored (March 15, 2021), R142 Car 7021 With New LED Destination Sign, retrieved October 26, 2021
References
edit- ^ "Car Assignments: Cars Required June 30, 2024" (PDF). The Bulletin. 67 (7). Electric Railroaders' Association. July 2024. Retrieved July 26, 2024.
- ^
- 'Subdivision 'A' Car Assignment Effective December 19, 2021'. New York City Transit, Operations Planning. December 17, 2021.
- 'Subdivision 'B' Car Assignment Effective December 19, 2021'. New York City Transit, Operations Planning. December 17, 2021.
- ^ "Car Assignments: Cars Required June 30, 2024" (PDF). The Bulletin. 67 (7). Electric Railroaders' Association. July 2024. Retrieved July 26, 2024.
- ^ 'Subdivision A Car Assignment Effective June 30, 2024'. New York City Transit, Operations Planning. June 30, 2024.
- ^ "Alstom Motors Catalogue 2015 - English" (PDF). Alstom. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 27, 2018. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
- ^ "Some New Subway Cars Put Into Service Monday". NY1. July 10, 2000. Archived from the original on February 6, 2009. Retrieved April 24, 2008.
- ^ "R-142 Datasheet from NYCT Revenue and Non-Revenue Car Drawings". Archived from the original on September 27, 2022. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
- ^ "Showing Image 3427". nycsubway.org. Archived from the original on December 17, 2007. Retrieved December 5, 2007.
- ^ "Showing Image 100281". nycsubway.org. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved April 23, 2009.
- ^ Chan, Sewell (November 30, 2005). "New Subway Cars Promise All Kinds of Information". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 15, 2023. Retrieved October 27, 2007.
- ^ "Antenna: News". antennadesign.com. Archived from the original on November 2, 2007. Retrieved October 27, 2007.
- ^ Seaton, Charles (January 1, 2001). "NYCT's New 'Millennium' Cars Enter Service". Metro Magazine. Archived from the original on October 16, 2018. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
- ^ "Shorter Subway Announcements May be on the Way". Archived from the original on October 2, 2017. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
- ^ "APRIL 1997 MTA PRESS RELEASES". June 14, 1997. Archived from the original on June 14, 1997. Retrieved September 18, 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "R-142 Datasheet from NYCT Revenue and Non-Revenue Car Drawings". Archived from the original on September 27, 2022. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
- ^ Kennedy, Randy (March 17, 2001). "New Subway Cars Show Flaws And Are Removed for Repairs". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 10, 2018. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
- ^ "New Interior Electronic Strip Maps Coming to Subway Cars on 2 5 Lines". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. February 12, 2016. Archived from the original on February 12, 2016. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
- ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "MTA Board - 01/21/2020 Live Webcast". YouTube.
- ^ "Capital Program Oversight Committee Meeting" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. January 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 20, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
- ^ Gomez [@TripleG_RTO] (March 29, 2020). "Train that was set on fire at 110 st RIP Train Operator Goble 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾 @vinbarone @AliBaumanTV @KatieLusso @clauirizarry" (Tweet). Retrieved April 1, 2020 – via Twitter.
- ^ Quizeno, Brandon (November 6, 2020). "R142 #6366-#6370 on the (5) today after the fire incident back in March. #6346-6350 is currently being fixed up. RIP to the operator" (JPEG). Facebook. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020 – via Imgur.
- ^ Jose Martinez [@JMartinezNYC] (March 27, 2020). "Photos obtained by @THECITYNY of this morning's fatal subway fire at the Central Park North-110th Street station the level of destruction" (Tweet). Retrieved March 27, 2020 – via Twitter.
- ^ Damaged R46 / R142 Scrap Subway Cars Consist Being Towed To Concourse Yard, archived from the original on February 15, 2023, retrieved February 15, 2023
- ^ Fieldstadt, Elisha (March 27, 2020). "One dead, at least 16 hurt in New York City subway fire". NBC News. Archived from the original on April 4, 2020. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
- ^ Dan Rivoli [@danrivoli] (March 27, 2020). "The aftermath of the fatal subway fire" (Tweet). Retrieved March 27, 2020 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Police: Arrest made in fire that killed NYC subway driver". Associated Press. December 18, 2020. Archived from the original on November 17, 2021. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
External links
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