MTA opens railcar acceptance and testing facility

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) opened its railcar acceptance and testing facility, which the agency says will serve as the first stop for all new subway cars before they are put into service. According to MTA, the facility will help process new subway cars, work locomotives and other rolling stock more efficiently, helping complete onsite testing so the cars can enter service more quickly.  

MTA notes the facility comes on the heels of the biggest infusion of new rail cars since systematic capital planning was first introduced more than a generation ago.  MTA is actively buying hundreds of modern R211 and R268 subway cars that will eventually replace all R46 and R68 subway cars, which have been in service for decades.   

“Thanks to funding from congestion pricing and the MTA’s 2025-29 Capital Plan, we are making generational upgrades to our subway fleet,” said New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. “Thousands of new, modern cars are set to improve the riding experience for millions of New Yorkers. By streamlining the process needed to get these new cars on the rails and into service, this new facility will ensure that riders feel the benefits of a new and improved subway fleet faster than ever.”  

The facility is located near the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal in Sunset Park and can accept rolling stock delivered by truck, rail or boat.  Once accepted, individual cars will be linked together for testing and commissioning on the facility’s in-house tracks. The newly created trains will then be sent via the facility’s direct connection to the subway network to complete further testing and will be entered into revenue service once they pass final inspection. 

According to the MTA, this is the first new, full-scale subway car facility located on a new property that has been added since the Pitkin Yard opened in Brooklyn in 1948. The facility was completed within its three-year timeline and $5.5 million under budget. MTA says the project came in under budget through the use of prefabricated building components and precast concrete for the track pit construction, speeding the project’s completion and minimizing cost.       

“Our historic $11 billion investment in rolling stock calls for a top-of-the-line new testing facility,” said MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber. “Now we’re ready to start processing the 1,500-plus rail cars included in the Capital Plan, no matter how they’re delivered—by land or by water.”     

The 2025-29 Capital Plan includes the purchase of 1,500 new subway cars, as 750 new R211 cars have been delivered and another 860 are still to arrive. First placed into service in March 2023, the R211 features pre-installed security cameras in each car, as well as 58-inch-wide door openings that are eight inches wider than standard door openings on the existing car fleet. This is 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 R211 is currently in service on the Staten Island Railway, as well as the A, B, C and G lines. There are plans to add the R211 on the D and the Rockaway Park S within the next two years. 

“This facility consolidates work that was once spread amongst different yards and unites it all under one roof,” said MTA Construction and Development President Jamie Torres-Springer. “It’s another example of the MTA delivering a critical project on time and under budget to improve subway reliability for decades to come.”      

The R268 cars will service the MTA’s B division lines beginning in 2028. In addition, the 2025-29 Capital Plan will include the purchase of new cars for the A Division, replacing the existing R62 trains serving the 1, 3 and 6 trains.     

According to New York City Transit (NYCT) President Demetrius Crichlow, the facility “provides a state-of-the-art space for NYCT employees to ensure new cars are safe, reliable and ready to enter service. With streamlined inspections and a direct connection to transit tracks, NYCT has never been more prepared to keep up with the historic 2025-29 Capital Plan and the unprecedented investment it provides in rolling stock.”       

MTA notes the cars also assist in its efforts to upgrade subway lines to Communications-based Train Control (CBTC). All R211 and R268s come equipped with technology that seamlessly integrates with CBTC signals, leading to a better overall commute for millions of daily riders—including more reliable service, fewer delays, more frequent trains and less waiting. 

Crews are actively working to complete CBTC upgrades on the A, C, E, F and G lines. Planned work on the Fulton Street and Liberty Avenue Lines of the A and C trains in Brooklyn and Queens and the 6th Avenue Line of the B, D, F and M trains in Manhattan are being paid for by funds generated from congestion relief.  

Upcoming CBTC modernization efforts on the A Rockaway Park S, J and Z trains from the Williamsburg Bridge to Broad Street, as well as on the N, Q, R and W trains in Manhattan and Astoria will be financed through the 2025-29 Capital Plan.