Art Vandelay

The Franklin R68s are all singles. (I don't disagree with your main point.)

R179s will have finished their tests when the last set is accepted for service. (Why this specific test is needed on the Brighton line, or whether it is R179 related, I do not know.)

Floors are essentially the same fleet-wide. Very few cars older than the R142s still have their original floors. (It is harder to tell with the newer cars as their floors look identical to replacement floors. ) Why NYCT has standardized on using plywood wrapped in stainless steel, I'll never understand... Plywood rots very quickly when it gets wet.

Bubbling floors is a problem fleetwide. It is a design and specification flaw which won't go away until they replace floors with those of a different design. I have recently seen R46s and R62As with what appears to be the flooring material used in Montreal. If they decide to go with that, we might see the bubbling issue eliminated. The 52 year old MR63s have their original floors, and they still look new. I hope we make the switch.

If the cascading of new cars due to the R179s ends up resulting in the relocating of more 75 foot cars to 207/Pitkin, those will be R46s, not R68s. Pitkin already has R46s, and Jamaica already has to get rid of its R46s. There is literally no conceivable reason to move the R68s there instead.

And every assumption in that post is generous to the RBL. The argument for it as an airport connection is really that poor.

There were at least 4 sets of R32 Cs on Wednesday.

Check them out again. I have not seen them look anywhere close to this good since the few years after GOH.

The E is generally the best choice for Midtown, (unless you want to pay for LIRR.) but the A really isn't slow. The problem is the frequency- you likely will have a long wait for the train. I take redeye flights into JFK about every other month, and head straight into work. Unless I plan on taking LIRR, I find that taking whichever Airtrain comes first ends up working pretty well for me. I'm a little south of midtown, but end up getting in at about the same time whichever train I take.

The A really isn't that much slower. ~45 minutes Howard Beach to 42nd. What kills it is the frequency, but that is going to be an issue for anything from Howard Beach.

The RPA idea is stupid, but it is at least possible, unlike most of the other plans to use the RBL for train service.

Yes, there are enough R188s for the entire 7 line. The problem is, between upgrades and tests, there haven't enough available to fully outfit the 7 line. CBTC can't function while there are still R62As on the 7.

R62As are still required for service.

The above two posts are a wonderfully detailed response. One slight point I'd like to add to Mr. Turnpike's posts above is the CBTC schedule. People are pointing out that prior CBTC projects- the L and 7 have been significantly delayed from their scheduled completion dates. That is true. People are pointing out that this means they won't need CBTC equipped R160s on Jamaica until later than projected. This is blatantly false. What was one of the biggest delays in activating the L train CBTC? Not enough R143s to run the line. Had to wait til the R160 fleet came in. What is one of the biggest delays in activating the 7 train CBTC? Not enough available R188s to run 7 service. Have to wait for enough cars to be reliably available for service for peak hour activation. Do you really think they want to delay Queens Boulevard when there are more than enough equippable R160s out there? NO! They'll have the cars ready beforehand, especially because they easily can!

The fact that the R32 fleet is currently on the A is in no way indicative of their future assignments.

I doubt that the R68 fleet will ever be assigned anywhere outside of CI and Concourse.

Almost 60 years. Short extensions started almost after the subway opened. There was a big extension program in the 1930s, followed by one in the 1950s which ended in 1962.

R160s can be configured 5-6 if needed. There is no line which could handle 11 car trains, so such is moot, at least for the near-middle term future.

I believe the plan is for it to start in a few hours. Full conversion to full length trains will require more R179s in service.

The answer is probably: Many 8 car sets go to the G, some go to Eastern division increases.

-Not enough 2 car units for this to be possible -6 car R46s would be a reduction in service. The whole reason why R46s are moving to the C is to increase service.

CBTC is not THE answer. It is PART of the answer.

My guess: R211T's go to the A D E F R211A's Go to the R, and fill out whatever is missing on the A/D. The Jamaica R160s that stay in Jamaica end up on the R. The rest end up on the A/B/C/D for 8th ave CBTC. R68/As end up living the rest of their days on the N/Q/W .

Jeumont-Schneider was the company involved in the R68 which was purchased by Alsthom. The R160 shells were built by Alstom in Brazil, which was once known as Mafersa. They were a fairly prominent shell manufacturer prior to being bought by Alstom. They built the shells for either the M4 or M6 Metro North fleet (I forget which), along with many others.

If I recall correctly, the gangway height is approximately 77 inches. That fits 99.8% of the population. 1 in 227 men would have to crouch. 1 in every 823,568 women would have to crouch. I think that is a statistic we can live with, especially considering that the rest of the car would comfortably accommodate that 0.2 percent. (And they'd have to crouch anyway, as the doorway into the cars is only 75 inches.)