news MTA capital budget to include $300M for new fleet of SIR cars

[realizm]

The 40-year-old Staten Island Railway trains are at the end of their line. Borough President James Oddo and Councilman Vincent Ignizio say the Metropolitan Transportation Authority will designate $300 million of its proposed capital plan to roll out a completely new fleet of trains for the Staten Island Railway (SIR). "The borough president, as well as Councilman Ignizio, has made it very clear how important it is to Staten Island to get new cars," said an MTA official. "The MTA understands what they've pointed out and agrees that it is a key priority."

 

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[Union Tpke]

Great news, will they be part of the R211 order?

[realizm]

I've looked through the latest materials from the mta.info site. Click here for the September CPOC meeting materials. I believe it should be the R211 order but details are sketchy as to how exactly the MTA may finalize this order as it is still in the design stages of development. The latest board committee materials just published this morning to the public doesn't discuss the SIRs R44s but only the 752 R46 cars the R211s will replace. This is a very recent development apparently.

 

 

Lastly I am unsure if the cars are going to be 75' or 60' cars because it is still on the drawing board sort of speak. It could go either way.

[ConcourseExp]

What matters is that the new cars should have about 4 Trains per train for space at Arthur Kills.

[realizm]

The thing is the dimensions of the R211 is still being decided upon. If they decide to build it as a 60' car they will have to arrange for the purchase of strictly 5 car sets. If 75' cars, then yes 4 car sets. If it is to be 75' cars unless they can come up with a five door design instead of the current configuration as seen on the R46s it will not match the MTAs current standards on car capacity and dwell times. One of the reasons why they built the R160s as 60' cars.

[JayJay85]

The thing is the dimensions of the R211 is still being decided upon. If they decide to build it as a 60' car they will have to arrange for the purchase of strictly 5 car sets. If 75' cars, then yes 4 car sets. If it is to be 75' cars unless they can come up with a five door design instead of the current configuration as seen on the R46s it will not match the MTAs current standards on car capacity and dwell times. One of the reasons why they built the R160s as 60' cars.

but 75ft cars mta will save millions of dollars in total car cost.

[realizm]

but 75ft cars mta will save millions of dollars in total car cost.

 

Yes that may be true, the costs of manufacturing of 75' cars will be less. But can they develop a 75' car with 5 doors per side with open gangways to match the fast loading times with the current 60' configuration standard of the R160s and the R179s in ten car sets? Furthermore, 75' cars cannot run on all lines in the B division, so these may be considerations that may influence the final design phase. Not sure which way this will go to be honest, we will have to wait until 2016 for a definite concrete answer as to how the cars will actually be built according to projected needs. For example, the MTA expects further increases in demand on the L. 75' cars cannot run on the BMT Eastern Division because of clearance issues.

 

The current order for R179s of which some will be sent to ENY, may or may not be enough to handle the surge of ridership on the L as the order will not create a surplus of cars displaced for other lines (Since the remaining R32s and 42s will be scrapped for obvious reasons). The MTA is waiting to see how the R179 works out first before they make a final decision according to past documents and comments from the spokepersons representing the agency.

 

One thing is for sure, the cars must be fast with propulsion systems that kick out a heck of alot of HP per truck to work on the SIR. So we can expect them to manufacture cars that will be faster and more powerful than any of the other NTTs on property today. I anticipate two versions of the R211s to be constructed for the SIR and NYCT but they will have to stick to the same linear dimensions in the carbody design. Or it will become more costly to manufacture.

[Quill Depot]

Why not use M3's and M7/A's. SIR trains don't need four doors.

[JayJay85]

Mta may have problem with the R179 order being mostly 4 car sets it should've been mostly 5 car sets, buy the way if r211 order end up being 60ft they would 940car for regular replacement and 210 growth cars and 80cars for SIR all in 5car sets.

[qjtransitmaster]

Why not use M3's and M7/A's. SIR trains don't need four doors.

M3 err just no they are obsolete

[MysteriousBtrain]

Why not use M3's and M7/A's. SIR trains don't need four doors.

 

I don't think the MTA would even consider it because the SIR uses R44s and the R44s are NYC subway cars.

[Dan1]

64 cars relacing 64 cars sounds like 75 footers. That $300m works out to a pricy $4,687,500 per car. Hope they retain transverse seating.

[R32 3838]

those R44's may be gone by the time the R211's come in

[Union Tpke]

Do you think SIR should have platform extensions?

[tripleeye49]

I always thought that the SIR should have commuter rail cars running.  They should use cars similar to the M7/M8 cars on Metro North / LIRR. The cars could be either 75 ft. or 85 ft., like their commuter rail counterparts (M7/M8/M9).  If 85 ft., then the platforms should be extended to accommodate 4 or even 6 car sets.

[bobtehpanda]

I don't think the MTA would even consider it because the SIR uses R44s and the R44s are NYC subway cars.

 

Way back when the MTA was first created, the SIR ran LIRR cars for a little bit to replace their Standard look-a-likes. Granted, I don't know if that's possible now due to the voltages and the different clearances these days.

[Gotham Bus Co.]

 

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The 40-year-old Staten Island Railway trains are at the end of their line. Borough President James Oddo and Councilman Vincent Ignizio say the Metropolitan Transportation Authority will designate $300 million of its proposed capital plan to roll out a completely new fleet of trains for the Staten Island Railway (SIR). "The borough president, as well as Councilman Ignizio, has made it very clear how important it is to Staten Island to get new cars," said an MTA official. "The MTA understands what they've pointed out and agrees that it is a key priority."

 

Read more: Source

 

Most Staten Island Railway riders don't pay any fare, so they shouldn't get newer cars than everybody else.

[biGC323232]

Do you think SIR should have platform extensions?

 

Wouldn't be a bad idea 

[Sparen of Iria]

Either way, the SIR cars, in my opinion, are total wrecks. If they're going to have to wait 5 or so years, so be it. It's free.

[bobtehpanda]

Most Staten Island Railway riders don't pay any fare, so they shouldn't get newer cars than everybody else.

 

This would work, except it doesn't really make sense to take R68s off of a line, convert it to SIR specs, and ship it over to Staten Island. It would make more sense to have specialized cars for the SIR due to its different ridership patterns and more commuter nature.