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Staten Island Railway gets new train cars for first time in 50 years
By
Stephen Nessen
Published Oct 8, 2024
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Marc A. Hermann / MTA
By
Stephen Nessen
Published Oct 8, 2024
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The MTA on Tuesday rolled out new train cars on the Staten Island Railway for the first time in 50 years.
Transit officials christened the new cars — called R211s — during an inaugural ride out of St. George Terminal. The MTA last year began to deploy the same type of cars on the A and C subway lines. So far, Staten Island has just one five-car train comprised of the new models, but officials said they expect to roll out three more new trains on the railway in the coming months.
“Today is a big day here on Staten Island,” Frank Farrell, Vice President of Staten Island Railway, said at a news conference. “I cannot wait for our operators to have the chance to get behind the controls of these new trains and for our customers to be greeted by brighter, more welcoming cars on their commute.”
The new trains feature wider doorways, and officials said they can run six times longer than older train cars without breaking down.
The delivery comes two years later than expected, which transit officials attributed to manufacturing issues at a plant in Nebraska run by the MTA's contractor Kawasaki.
Back in 1973, trains like this replaced 50-year-old ones on the Staten Island Railway.
Liam Quigley
The new cars replace the aging R44 models that debuted on the line in 1973. Similarly, those train sets replaced ones that were also 50 years old during an era when the Staten Island Railway was mockingly referred to as the “Toonerville Trolley” due to its lack of reliability.
MTA Board member Norman Brown in June suggested the agency withhold the delivery of the new train cars after some Staten Island lawmakers opposed congestion pricing, which has been paused by Gov. Kathy Hochul.
MTA Chair Janno Lieber rejected that idea on Tuesday.
“People are obviously frustrated by some of the rhetoric around congestion pricing, [it] is part of the reason that I emphasize that three quarters of the folks from Staten Island who come to Manhattan for jobs do take transit,” said Lieber. “They take the MTA express buses, they ride the ferry and they get on MTA services. They ride Staten Island Railway.”
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staten island
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].
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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