R62 (New York City Subway car)
R62 | |
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standard gauge |
The R62 is a
The R62 was the first order of A Division cars in 20 years (following the R36 order from 1963), and the first stainless steel subway car built for the A Division. The first cars entered revenue service testing on November 29, 1983, and officially entered service on May 7, 1984. The R62s are scheduled to remain in service until the late-2020s, when they will be replaced with the R262s.
Description
The R62s are numbered 1301–1625, totaling 325 cars. Each car was purchased at an average price of US$918,293.
The R62 was the first stainless steel and air-conditioned subway car built for the A Division. A graffiti-resistant glaze was applied to all of the cars because of the extensive graffiti tagging of nearly all of the subway cars in the system since 1969.[5][6] They continued a controversial interior design by employing bucket seating, which was very narrow, with each seat being about 17 inches (430 mm) wide. This reduced the number of seats per car when compared to standard bench seating, but allowed for higher standing capacity.[7] This design originated with the R44 and continued through the R68A order.[7] Five cars in the order (1587–1591) were built with bench seating after complaints by passengers upon delivery.[8]
The R62s have full-width cabs at each end of each five-car set, but retain intermediate half-width cabs in the remaining cab positions, as the trains were originally built as single cars.[7]
The R62s also brought back the much more reliable WABCO RT-2 or SMEE braking system after an absence from subway equipment last used on their R42s in 1969. WABCO also discontinued their trouble-prone RT-5 or P-wire braking systems after disastrous results, with continuous teething problems used during the 1970s period.
Currently, all R62s are maintained at the
.History
Car order
After the
In July 1981, the NYCTA began the bidding process for 325 cars under the R62 contract.
The R62 contract was ordered on April 12, 1982, and awarded to Kawasaki Heavy Industries. This was the first time a foreign company was chosen to build cars for the New York City Subway, which was possible since no federal funding was involved.[7] Because a 1981 law now allowed the MTA and suppliers to broker contracts rather than simply accept the lowest bid, the MTA awarded the base contract to Kawasaki.[10]
Delivery
The cars entered revenue testing on the 4 on November 29, 1983, and were also tested on the 2, 5, and 7 trains.[10] The cars entered service on May 7, 1984, as part of the Car Appearance Program. Soon after delivery, the cars also proved themselves much less prone to breakdowns than previous rolling stock.[10] All 325 cars were in service by August 1985, making the 4 the first entirely graffiti-free service in the system in many years.[10]
Kawasaki did not wish to build the additional cars the MTA wanted as a separate part of the R62 order, under contract R62A, for the same price per car. Bombardier Transportation, an Integrated Transportation rail car company headquartered in Montreal, won a contract to supply these additional 825 cars under a license from Kawasaki.[7][6][10]
Accidents
On August 28, 1991, a sleep-deprived and intoxicated motorman
On December 21, 1994, disgruntled computer analyst Edward J. Leary firebombed a crowded 4 train at
On October 25, 2000, during the
Replacement
Though no R62s were retired by replacement, the aforementioned accidents caused the premature retirement of ten cars.[15] The remaining cars are expected to be replaced starting around the late 2020s. The MTA proposed mid-life technological upgrades for the R62s in 2010, including LED destination signs and automated announcements.[16][17]
In January 2019, the MTA announced that it would be replacing the R62/A fleets with the R262s, a new fleet that would be ordered as part of a future capital program.[18]: 25
References
- ^ "R-62 Datasheet from NYCT Revenue & Non-Revenue Car Drawings". Archived from the original on January 17, 2023. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
- ^ Chiasson, George (June 2003). "Redbird Update" (PDF). The Bulletin. 46 (6). Electric Railroaders' Association, Incorporated: 15. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 14, 2022. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
- ^ "Subdivision 'A' Car Assignments: Cars Required December 23, 2023" (PDF). The Bulletin. 67 (2). Electric Railroaders' Association. December 2023. Retrieved March 22, 2024.
- ^ 'Subdivision 'A' Car Assignment Effective December 23, 2023'. New York City Transit, Operations Planning. December 23, 2023.
- ^ Banks, Alec. "The History of Subway Graffiti in New York City". Rock The Bells. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
- ^ a b c "www.nycsubway.org: Chapter 11, Another Renewal for the IRT". www.nycsubway.org. April 10, 1998. Archived from the original on November 17, 2015. Retrieved November 14, 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "www.nycsubway.org: R-62 (Kawasaki) -- R-62A (Bombardier)". www.nycsubway.org. 1988. Archived from the original on November 1, 2015. Retrieved November 14, 2015.
- ^ "Photobucket". Archived from the original on July 19, 2014. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
- ^ "The ballot of Casey Jones". New York Daily News. October 21, 1979. p. 45. Archived from the original on March 15, 2023. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e Feinman, Mark S. (December 8, 2004). "www.nycsubway.org: The New York Transit Authority in the 1980s". www.nycsubway.org. Archived from the original on September 6, 2017. Retrieved November 14, 2015.
- ^ Urbina, Ian (April 8, 2008). "Growing Pains for a Deep-Sea Home Built of Subway Cars". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 12, 2017. Retrieved February 23, 2017.
- ^ 44:10-50:10 in this video does a small documentary on the accident: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KKVupF7Uug Archived August 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Newman, Andy (October 26, 2000). "2 Motormen Are Injured In Collision Of No. 4 Trains". The New York Times. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
- ^ "ORIGINAL KODACHROME SLIDE R-62 #1369 DEMOLISHED AT CONCOURSE YARD NOV 3, 2000". January 29, 2015. Archived from the original on February 13, 2015. Retrieved January 29, 2015.
- ^ MTA Capital Program Oversight Committee Hearing, June 2010 (page 20) Archived November 25, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Request For Information No. 9003 | Integrated Communications System on NYCT R62/R62A and R68/R68A Class Rail Cars" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on June 27, 2011. Retrieved July 7, 2011.
- from the original on August 9, 2017. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
- ^ "Capital Program Oversight Committee Meeting" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. January 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 20, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
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 – NYC Subway Cars: R62/R62A