The era of the new R160s is officially over as New York City Transit announced that they have received the final units of the 1662-car order. The new cars are in use on the E, F, N and Q lines, and the technology behind the R160s — including the underutilized FIND signs — should keep this series of rolling stock on the rails for the next four decades.
Transit officials have spoken glowingly of the new cars as they now average approximately 370,000 miles between mechanical failures. “A lot of work went into the development of the R160 fleet and these cars have allowed us to retire hundreds of subway cars that first entered service in the mid to late 1960s, Carmen Bianco, senior vice president of the Department of Subways, said. “These cars are state-of-the-art, and designed to provide customers with far more information and comfort than older models and they are designed to last at least through mid century.”
The R160 order wraps up the MTA’s rolling stock expenditures under the 2005-2009 capital plan, and the next order — the so-called R179s — will come under the next five-year plan. Current plans for the R179s include a 290-car order for 60-footers that will replace the remaining R32 and R42 sets. The R188 order for the 7 line will start arriving in 2012, and the R211s are slated to arrive in 2015 to replace the R46s.