R160 (New York City Subway car)

The interior of R160 car 9800 with experimental looped stanchions

An experimental LCD screen in place of the Arts for Transit card

As part of a 2010 pilot program to increase security and capacity,[16][17] R160B cars 8713–8722 tested folding seats, CCTV, pivoted grabhandles, and looped stanchions. Following passenger complaints and Kawasaki's refusal to test the same equipment on a set of R142 cars, the program was canceled in 2012[18][19] and the equipment was removed. Some of the remaining grabhandles and folding seats from the program have been reused to address a state of emergency in 2017,[20] but have been the subject of vandalism.[21]

R160A cars 9798–9802 were equipped with looped stanchions and double the number of poles, the former feature which was first seen on R160Bs 8713–8722. These features were later added in several other R160 cars during refurbishment, in order to address the 2017 New York City transit crisis.

In 2016, a non-advertised pilot program saw 20 R160 trainsets based out of Jamaica Yard testing onboard WiFi.[22] [23] That same year, many cars had their Arts for Transit boards replaced with LCD information screens to display public safety announcements, advertisements, and trivia. These screens are similar to the ones onboard all R143 cars; however, they can display a range of colors instead of just red, orange, and green.

R160B cars 9928–9932 are equipped with LED headlights, which are planned to be included on the R211 cars.[lower-alpha 1]

In 2018, R160A car 8395 had its truck suspension system replaced with carbon fiber reinforced plastic "efWING" leaf springs from Kawasaki, to determine the feasibility of them replacing the heavier coil spring suspension found on all other R160s. R160B car 9116 was also equipped with the new suspension.[lower-alpha 2]

In September 2020, a set of R160s received digital display advertising as a pilot test. This is similar to the digital advertising found on the R188s.[24]

There are current and future use cases for communications-based train control with the R160 cars. 68 R160As (8313–8380) have CBTC equipment installed for use on the Canarsie Line L, alongside already-equipped R143 cars.[25][26] 1,486 additional R160 cars, including 5-car sets maintained at Coney Island Yard and 4-car sets maintained at East New York, are planned to be equipped with CBTC for use on the Queens Boulevard Line E, F, M, and R trains).[27][28] R160As 8313–8316 and 8377–8380 were temporarily taken out of service to test equipment between Bergen Street and Church Avenue on the express tracks of the IND Culver Line, and have returned to service with the equipment removed.

On July 31, 2002, it was announced that New York City Transit awarded a $961,687,121 contract to Alstom for 660 new cars, with two new options that could provide for a total of 1,040 cars. Kawasaki and Alstom organized a joint venture called Alskaw Inc. for project management, engineering, and equipment purchasing to pursue the contract, and to allow for operational compatibility with the R143s, which were built by Kawasaki.[29] The two companies built and delivered the rolling stock through the joint venture. Kawasaki not only manufactured 260 cars for the base contract but was also the engineering leader for the whole project and provided the trucks for all cars. Alstom assembled 1002 R160A cars at its manufacturing plant in Hornell, New York, while Kawasaki assembled 660 R160B cars at its plant in Yonkers, New York.[30] Shells for the Alstom-built cars were built in their Lapa plant, in São Paulo, Brazil, and shells for the Kawasaki-built cars were assembled at their Lincoln, Nebraska plant. The base order consisted of 660 cars, the first option included 620 cars, and the second option included 382 cars.[31]

Early on in the order, Alstom encountered significant start-up production problems since being awarded the base contract. In July 2005, Alstom missed its contractual deadline to deliver the 10-car test train, which arrived five months late with Alstom requesting three additional months to deliver the test train. In addition, the Transit Authority rejected several car shells made earlier at their plant in Lapa, Brazil, near São Paulo, after discovering welding defects.[32]

The first 5-car set of R160As (8653–8657) was delivered on November 29, 2005, and the next remaining five cars (8658–8662) were delivered on December 6, 2005, to the New York City Transit Authority, forming a complete 10-car train for acceptance testing and evaluation. The R160As entered revenue service on the A on October 17, 2006, for in-service acceptance testing after several months of exhaustive non-revenue service tests.

The first train of R160Bs (8713–8722) was delivered on July 22, 2005. The R160Bs entered revenue service on the N on August 17, 2006, for in-service acceptance testing after slightly over a year of successful non-revenue service tests.[33][34]

While Kawasaki had few or no problems in delivering the R160Bs, Alstom was behind on its delivery schedule early on in the R160A order. Alstom was to deliver 200 out of the 400-car base order by September 2007. However, by that month, Alstom had only delivered 80 cars.[35] Under the base contract, Alstom agreed to pay damages of $800 a day for late deliveries of four-car trains, and $1000 a day for five-car trains, though the Transit Authority had not yet fined Alstom for its late deliveries and was actually negotiating with Alstom to accelerate their delivery schedule. The 200 cars were finally delivered 7 months late in early April 2008.

On November 10, 2008, the MTA exercised options for 140 R160B cars (9803–9942) and 242 R160A cars, broken down into 32 cars arranged as 4-car sets (9943–9974) and 210 cars arranged in 5-car sets (9593–9802).[36][37][38]

The option order cars were delivered starting in late 2009, and the final cars were delivered on May 6, 2010.[31] By June 2010, all R160A and R160B cars were in revenue service.[39]

An R160 with new exterior wrap

Interior of a refurbished R160 with new interior wrap and features

After Hurricane Sandy, R160B set 8738–8742 was damaged and required an extensive electrical reconstruction at Coney Island Shops. In March 2016, the set underwent pre-service testing and finally returned to service in fall 2016.[40]

In response to the 2017 New York City transit crisis, the R160s have seen mass refurbishments. The majority of R160 cars have been given LED interior lighting, yellow-painted looped stanchions, traffic flow signage, and LCD information screens, and some have been deep-cleaned. Twenty 5-car train sets assigned to the E service were given a new exterior wrap to match upcoming rolling stock, as well as interior artwork, LED interior lighting, yellow-painted looped stanchions, arrows on the floors around the doorways, and LCD information screens. The seats at the end of the cars were also removed for extra capacity.[41][42][43] Some 4-car train sets assigned to the L service have been given the same new exterior wrap, LED interior lighting, yellow-painted looped stanchions, floor arrows, and LCD information screens (that replaced the art-for-transit cards), plus folding seats and pivoted grabhandles previously tested in 2010. Passengers sometimes vandalize the seats when they are locked in the up position during rush hours.[44]