Design of recent tools, nearing debut, creates subject with working guidelines, information report says

NEW YORK — New York’s first batch of “open gangway” subway vehicles — these with accordion-style connections, quite than doorways between vehicles, making it straightforward to stroll from automotive to automotive — won’t be able to function on some categorical traces as a result of their design creates a battle with New York Metropolis Transit working guidelines, the web site Gothamist studies.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority included 20 of the open-gangway R211T vehicles as a part of its bigger order of 535 vehicles constructed by Kawasaki, and will get one other 437 of the open-gangway vehicles as a part of a subsequent 640-car order [see “MTA provides first look …,” Trains News Wire, Feb. 6, 2023]. They have been initially meant to run on the A and C traces (eighth Avenue categorical and native) between Manhattan and Brooklyn.
However an MTA memo obtained by Gothamist says the design of the brand new vehicles “makes it unattainable” for operators to carry out a required security inspection following activation of the practice’s emergency brakes. MTA guidelines require operators to examine either side of the monitor in case of an activation of the emergency brakes; if that’s not potential, as is the case on some categorical tracks, the operator should examine the tracks between every automotive. That is simply finished on standard vehicles, however not potential on the open-gangway vehicles. Because of this, the 2 10-car trainsets of the brand new tools will function on the native C line after they enter service. That ought to occur “within the subsequent week or so,” New York Metropolis Transit President Richard Davey stated at a press convention final week.
Davey stated the MTA “made a acutely aware choice” to function the trains solely on the C line, Gothamist studies: “You already know, for a brand new automotive class, we simply thought it was extra prudent to have that automotive stopping at stations extra regularly. Our A practice clients are getting quite a lot of R211s, so we thought we’d give slightly like to our C practice clients as nicely.”

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First New York ‘open gangway’ cars won’t be used in express service