MTA’s Staten Island Railway begins operating R211S subway cars
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) Staten Island Railway (SIR) fleet is now entirely made up of the standard R211 subway cars.
“New rolling stock is a huge part of the MTA’s fully funded Capital Plan, and now Staten Island is the first borough to get a full fleet of R211S train cars,” said MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber. “The new models not only look great, but they’re key to running more reliable service for the borough’s thousands of daily riders.”
New York City Transit President Demetrius Crichlow added, “This major milestone of successfully introducing all of the R211S cars into service on the Staten Island Railway means smoother commutes for Staten Islanders. The cars have features that make the customers’ journeys undeniably better, and I look forward to bringing more modern rolling stock to the transit system as part of the 2025 – 2029 Capital Plan.”
MTA notes the cars include pre-installed security cameras in each car and feature 58-inch-wide door openings that are eight inches wider than standard door openings on the existing car fleet, which are designed to speed up boarding and reduce the amount of time trains sit in stations. In addition to wider doors, the cars provide additional accessible seating, digital displays that will provide more detailed station-specific information and brighter lighting and signage, among other features that improve the customer experience.
The R211S cars will replace 52 R44s on the Staten Island Railway, which joined the SIR in 1973. According to the MTA, R44 cars will be available for a few years as the new fleet is introduced. The R211S cars have an average mean distance between failure (MDBF) rate of approximately 125,000-250,000 miles compared to the R44’s 50,000 miles. MTA says the MDBF is a measure of how far the railcar can travel before a mechanical issue occurs and requires unscheduled maintenance.
According to the MTA, since the new cars were introduced, the SIR has seen improved customer satisfaction in waiting times, frequency of delays, cleanliness on board trains, announcements on board trains, service reliability and overall satisfaction on board.
“We are pleased that after fifty years the Staten Island Railway will finally be completely up-to-speed with the rest of the city,” said Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella. “The newer trains are a welcome development for safety, accessibility and comfort when traveling. We will continue to support and advocate for modernizing our Staten Island Railway and putting our commuters first.”