USA: New York MTA’s Staten Island Railway began using its first R211S metro cars in public service on October 8.
Kawasaki Rail Car is supplying 75 R211S cars for the 23 km standalone line on Staten Island as part of a large-scale programme to supply R211 cars for the New York Subway.
‘These beautiful new train cars are a major investment in transit on Staten Island’, said MTA Chair & CEO Janno Lieber. ‘Between the train and the 56 bus routes, we take great pride in the service the team delivers to help make Staten Island a great place to live.’
The R211S cars will replace R44s cars used on the Staten Island Railway since 1973. Features of the new trains include security cameras, additional accessible seating, brighter lighting and signage and digital route displays that will provide more detailed station-specific information.
‘These new Staten Island railway cars have been long overdue’, said Borough President Vito Fossella. ‘Staten Island has long been behind the rest of the city in rail transportation, and replacing 50-year-old cars with brand new ones is a welcome development.’
