MTA’s new subway cars still need repairs

Plus: 10th Avenue got a wider bike lane [On The Way - from WNYC and Gothamist] Gothamist relies on your support to make local news available to all. Not yet a member? [Consider donating and join today.]( Some of MTA's newest cars still need repairs months after being pulled off rails By [Stephen Nessen]( The MTA’s newest subway cars are slowly returning to the rails after unexpected mechanical problems with a key component: the gears that make the trains go. MTA officials confirmed that two out of seven of the modern trains known as R211s are still out of service. In October, [I reported]( that six out of seven of the trains had been pulled for repairs just months after going into service. The MTA’s response to that initial story highlights how the agency’s public relations pros often respond to bad press: through obfuscation. Initially, an MTA spokesperson only confirmed there was an issue with some of the R211s traveling on the A line. But the spokesperson couldn’t say how many trains had been pulled out of service because of the “dynamic” situation. ([Each of the trains cost $2.7 million, by the way]( Only after we published our initial story did New York City Transit President Richard Davey clarify that nearly all of the [“cutting edge,” “top of the line”]( trains were already back at the train yard for repairs. The problem was in the gearbox, which makes the wheels on a train turn. If the steel wheels don’t turn, they drag. If they drag, the wheel becomes partially flattened. Distorted wheels make loud, clanking sounds that are probably familiar to the seasoned commuter. An expert at the MTA explained to me it’s not uncommon for new trains to have problems, even after all the testing. In 2020 the MTA pulled nearly 300 of its newest trains at that time because the doors weren’t shutting properly. Davey emphasized that the cars are still under warranty. The manufacturer of the trains will make the repairs, at no cost to taxpayers. One question he didn’t answer with specificity: When will the trains be fixed? All he could say was it should take weeks, but not months. Now it’s mid-December. And two of the newfangled trains are still being repaired. What New York is reading this week [someone buying a giant Bedford Avenue station sign]( Stephen Nessen/Gothamist [Subway signs, benches, trash cans among 1,000 items at MTA's pop-up holiday sale]( - Rail fans can snag train seats, master controllers, rare signage and even pieces from the discontinued Brightliner trains at the MTA's memorabilia sale this week. [Read more](. - NJ Transit said service between Newark and Penn Station in Manhattan was delayed Thursday morning after a bull got onto the tracks near Newark Penn Station. [Read more](. - Traffic experts are warning that drivers with phony or defaced license plates that evade toll sensors could undermine congestion pricing’s goal of bringing in $1 billion a year. [Read more](. - A 14-block stretch of 10th Avenue in Manhattan now has a wider bike lane and other safety improvements for cyclists and pedestrians. [Read more](. - The MTA released a major redesign plan for the Queens bus network that would create 15 new routes and shorten wait times during daytime hours. [Read more](. - Police this week arrested a suspect in connection with a November rush-hour shooting on a C train in Brooklyn. [Read more](. - A cyclist is suing the city after the NYPD ticketed her for running a red traffic light — even though she had the right to cross the intersection with the pedestrian walk signal. ([Streetsblog]( - New York City Transit confirmed last week that workers at the East New York bus depot were running buses indoors to stay warm because the heat wasn’t working at the facility. ([THE CITY]( Curious commuter “If I take the Triboro Bridge to 125th Street and park at 62nd Street, then I don’t have to pay for congestion pricing, right?” - Fontini from maspeth, queens What Clayton and Stephen say: That’s exactly right, Fontini. If you want to avoid [the congestion tolls]( while driving into Manhattan you must either remain north of 60th Street, or stay on either the FDR Drive, West Side Highway or Battery Park Underpass. But your question points to a concern among many uptown car owners who fear they’ll lose their streetside spaces as more people strategically park their cars just north of the congestion zone. Have a question? [@Gothamist's Instagram]( gives followers for special opportunities and prompts to submit questions. If you're not on Instagram, email [cguse@wnyc.org](mailto:cguse@wnyc.org ?subject=Curious%20Commuter) or [snessen@wnyc.org](mailto:snessen@wnyc.org?subject=Curious%20Commuter) with the subject line "Curious Commuter question." Don’t forget... - No B trains are running during nights or weekends. Take the A, C, D, or Q train instead. - Through the first quarter of 2024 the M train will not travel above 57th street, and the F train will run on the E line between Rockefeller Center and Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Ave. These changes to the F line means there's no subway service at Roosevelt Island, but the MTA is providing shuttle buses instead. More details [here](. - Every borough currently has one free bus route. [Find yours](. - The New York Public Library's "electrifying" rare subway photos exhibit is on display through Jan. 7. [Details here.]( This week in NYC transit history [people reading newspapers inside an old subway car] Bettmann/Getty Images Nothing to read here Before the age of smartphones, millions of New York City subway riders buried their faces in newspapers to pass time during commutes. But on Dec. 12, 1958, that option disappeared when a strike by printers and drivers shut down nine of the city’s biggest papers, including the New York Times, the Daily News and the New York Post. “Without a paper, the subway rider becomes a sadly exposed and almost frightened person,” the Poughkeepsie Journal wrote during the strike. “There's nothing to look at but faces. And in a city of eight million, face-scanning can become dreadfully monotonous. Normally, staring at another's face in the subway labels one a real weirdie. Right now there's no choice." The strike ended on Dec. 28, and the subways were once again filled with newspaper readers. [Instagram]( [Instagram]( [Facebook]( [Facebook]( [YouTube]( [YouTube]( [New York Public Radio] [WNYC]( | [WQXR]( | [NJPR]( | [GOTHAMIST]( [WNYC STUDIOS]( | [THE GREENE SPACE]( Copyright © New York Public Radio. All rights reserved. 160 Varick Street, New York, NY 10013 [TERMS OF USE]( You can update your [PREFERENCES]( or [UNSUBSCRIBE]( from this list.