For New York City Transit, a typical subway car has a lifespan of approximately 40 years. After those four decades are up, the agency prefers to replace old technology with newer cars that won’t require as much maintenance and feature cutting-edge transportation technologies. If that lifespan guideline were to be applied to the R44s currently in service along the Staten Island Railway, the MTA’s latest iteration of its 2010-2014 capital plan will call for rolling stock replacements, but it does not. Staten Island will be, according to Maura Yates, left with its R44s for at least another five years.
Although the R44s on the A line are going to be replaced, the news, however, is not all doom and gloom for those Staten Islanders looking for the MTA to focus on improving transit options on the island. Recently, the 63 R44 cars that make up the SIR fleet underwent an $11 million retrofit that should keep them running smoothly for a few more years, and the MTA is still planning to spend over $20 million to build the Arthur Kill Station.
Staten Island representatives to the MTA Board are satisfied with the investment and know the MTA will closely monitor the SIR’s aging rolling stock. “The irony is that our tracks, unlike our roads, are in better shape than the rest of the city,” Allen Cappelli said, “so our cars don’t take the kind of pounding that they do in other places. It was the recommendation that they did not need to put money in the budget to replace them. However, if a problem develops and we need to replace the cars, I’ve been assured we’ll buy the cars, but I’m not expecting that will have to happen.”
18 comments
Does “Arthur Kill Station” refer to the end of the line at Tottenville, or what?
It’s going to replace the Atlantic and Nassau stations. Beyond that, I’m a little hazy on the details.
Ben,
you missed the R188 Choo choo train order that went through late last week.
Anon
I saw that in the board materials, but until we have design specs, that’s not too sexy. I’ll write up something about it this week.
The R188s are, for those unaware, a small order of CBTC-equipped cars that will replace the R62As currently in use along the 7 line.
They’re not replacing the R62As – they’re just pushing them elsewhere. The R188 also includes conversion of some R142As to CBTC.
Acronyms always drive me nuts.
What is CBTC again?
Communications-Based Train Control.
It’s been discussed frequently both on the site and the comments, and it should allow Transit to run more trains per hour than they currently do.
Which the 7 train badly needs
I often see new subway cars (R160s most likely) on trailers on the NJ side of the George Washington Bridge waiting to be delivered to Manhattan, or wherever they’re going. It’s a sign that work is being done, but surely there must be an easier way to deliver them other than by tractor-trailer across the GW.
I believe the SIR is considered “heavy rail” and has different requirements than traditional subway cars. I wonder if the M3’s being phased out on LIRR/Metro North can be made to work on Staten Island (technically, not bureaucratically). They’re built to handle the federal requirements, use the same 3rd rail traction power, have the same width (I think), and are newer and in better shape than the R44s.
The M3s weigh about 50% more than the R44s, due to the FRA’s buff strength regulations. While the SIR is an FRA-regulated railroad, it is disconnected from the national railroad system, which means it has a waiver allowing it to run lightweight trains.
Because track wear is proportional to the fourth power of axle load, a 50% increase in weight means a 5-fold increase in track wear. This is what makes running FRA-compliant trains on the SIR stupid. The width isn’t a big deal – the M3s are a bit wider than BMT trains, but the SIR used to run wider trains and could accommodate them again by shaving back the platforms. It’s the maintenance costs of commuter trains that are brutal.
Got it. Thanks for the explanation! I thought there might be something more than FRA regulations. But I wonder if that waiver would continue with the North Shore line, since it crosses a bridge into NJ. (I know the NJ Transit RiverLine light-rail, from Trenton to Camden, uses lightweight diesel vehicles on a rarely used freight line. They got a waiver by separating passenger and freight usage by strict time blocks)
The River Line DMUs are only “lightweight” by US FRA standards. They haul heavy freight with things like that in Europe!
As an aside, it looks like the MTA is buying Diesel MUs for the Long Island Railroad now.
The MTA is buying compatible DMUs. In other words, it’s engaging in corporate welfare for US Railcar, the only company that makes such beasts, instead of trying to ask the FRA to stop making it lose so much money.
The current plans for the North Shore Line call for terminating light rail service one stop before its old Port Ivory terminus. As freight trains only serve Port Ivory, this would provide strict track separation.
I ride the SIRR daily. The cars are not bad, they are basically in the same shape as the cars that run along the R line. The only real problems is the heating and cooling systems. They never compensate for the outside weather making the ride uncomfortable at times. Also the speakers are full of static. The trains smell a lot better than the subway cars though. They are always clean which is a good sign for the SIRR but new cars would definitely be nice.
About the Arthur Kill stop, Atlantic and Nassau, the last two stops before Tottenville. They are both in horrible shape. The only problem is the stations are still useful, and people that live on that side of the island usually don’t rely on the train since driving is faster.
Wouldn’t though the SIR R44’s suffer from the same structural integrity issues however?
On another note, it’s interesting to read here about the FRA safety requirements that result in heavier equipment. Connected to this is why Acela had so many problems getting off the ground because it is heavier than it’s European and Asian counterparts and also why high speed rail is a challenge here. Of course there are many other reasons for this as well.
Acela’s for the Staten Island Railway–how cool would that be! Tottenville to St. George in 10 mins instead of 45…one can dream.