Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Door Closing Issue Sidelines Costly New Subway Cars Indefinitely
By
Stephen Nessen
Published Jan 10, 2020
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By <a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Mtattrain&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="User:Mtattrain (page does not exist)">Mtattrain</a> - <span class="int-own-work" lang="en">Own work</span>, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0" title="Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=70940803">Link</a>
By
Stephen Nessen
Published Jan 10, 2020
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
It only took two door closing issues for the MTA to take what NYC Transit President Andy Byford called a “drastic” measure to remove all 298 of the newly arrived $600 million R179 subway cars out of service until every car is inspected and a new software safety upgrade is installed.
“I'm keen to get these trains back into service, customers want them, but they'll come back when we're wholly satisfied that we've found a safe way to do that,” Byford told reporters Thursday.
The first door incident occurred on Christmas Eve on a southbound C train just past High Street. It was travelling between stations in Brooklyn when one of the doors opened about four inches, triggering the brakes. Crews locked the door and then took the train out of service.
The MTA says no one was injured. Bombardier, the train manufacturer, said it was a “one-off” incident, according to the MTA, and that the problem had been resolved.
Except it happened again on January 3rd, this time at Jay Street when the train was stopped in the station. Crews locked the door, and continued on.
Then, on January 7th, Bombardier informed the MTA that these two problems could be systemic and affect all of the newly delivered R179 cars. The MTA took them all out of service, replacing them with older models.
“The R179 cars have been in service for over one million miles and have experienced only two incidents related to the door mechanisms,” Bombardier wrote in a statement. “We’d like to reiterate that we believe passenger safety was not compromised. Our root cause analysis indicates that these incidents were due to a rare and very specific combination of unforeseen mechanical and operational circumstances that have proven extremely difficult for us to replicate and were unlikely to reoccur. That being said, safety is our utmost priority, which is why we are acting swiftly and decisively to put in place corrective measures on the entire fleet to ensure that the door mechanisms always perform as expected.”
On Thursday, Byford wouldn’t say whether this incident could cause Bombardier to lose eligibility to bid on future MTA contracts, like the 1,900 new subway cars which are part of the next Capital Plan.
“We need more suppliers and more contractors in the game, we want competitive bidding, we want quality products,” Byford said. “I want equipment that works.”
Bombardier was barred from bidding on the R211, which went to competitors Kawasaki, because of delays in delivering the R179s. The new R211 train cars are expected to arrive later this year.
“If we’re going to make any lemonade out of these lemons, it should be to fix the process and not just the cars,” Lisa Daglian with the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA, wrote in a statement. “On the subject of fixing things, top of the list should also be changing the debarment rules to reflect the reality of the market. As written, Bombardier should already be out – not just for the R179 delays but also on Positive Train Control overruns. Yet the MTA – which wrote the rules – is flouting them. It’s time to turn the emergency rules into regulations that hold contractors responsible but are actionable and practical.”
Bombardier gave the MTA 18 extra train cars as part of its long-delayed $600 million order of 300 R179 cars. The last of those was delivered at the end of 2019.
As for taking legal action over the latest snafu, Byford said “all options remain on the table,” but he’s focusing on fixing the cars firsts. “We’ll look at the legal ramifications of this and assessment of costs.”
Tagged
we the commuters
safety
MTA
subway doors
fear
subway
train
Stephen Nessen
Stephen Nessen covers transportation. Since 2008 he has reported on everything from Occupy Wall Street, the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site, Hurricane Sandy, to Trump’s campaign for president. His transportation reporting has taken him everywhere from the MTA’s secret Rail Control Center to the gleaming subways of Seoul. Got a tip? Email [email protected].
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
ICE agent shoots, injures immigrant man in NYC's Marble Hill, DHS says
The agency says the man is alive and hospitalized.
By
Giulia Heyward
and
Arya Sundaram
Published Oct 8, 2026 at 5:33 p.m. ET
Modified Oct 8, 2026 at 11:20 p.m. ET
Lazy drivers in Prospect Heights lose chance for 1 less day of alternate-side parking
A pilot found that drivers actually complied with alternate-side less when fewer days were in effect.
By
Liam Quigley
News
Lazy drivers in Prospect Heights lose chance for 1 less day of alternate-side parking
A pilot found that drivers actually complied with alternate-side less when fewer days were in effect.
By
Liam Quigley
Jersey City mayor shakes up staff amid $255M budget gap
By
Michael Sol Warren
Bronx residents will be exempt from new Medicaid work rule, state officials say
By
Caroline Lewis
MTA chair accuses Andy Byford, who's leading Penn Station rebuild, of going 'full MAGA'
By
Stephen Nessen
and
Carol Chen
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .