Wabtec to provide brakes, couplers for New York subway cars

PITTSBURGH — Wabtec will provide brakes and couplers for New York City Transit’s second order of R211 subway cars to be built by Kawasaki Rail Car, Wabtec has announced.

The 640-car order, placed last year, fulfills an option from an original 535-car order now being delivered that includes 440 R211A cars, 20 pilot cars with an open gangway design, and 75 cars for the Staten Island Railway — the first new Staten Island equipment in 50 years [see “Staten Island Railway receives first …,” Trains News Wire, Oct. 18, 2023]. An additional option exists for up to 437 more cars. Kawasaki is building the cars at plants in Lincoln, Neb., and Yonkers, N.Y.; the cars in this latest order are scheduled for delivery in 2025 and 2026.

“We are delighted that Kawasaki has once again chosen to draw on our strong and longstanding relationship for this exciting project,” Wabtec Transit President Pascal Schweitzer said in a press release. “We are proud to help boost reliability and improve subway service on the New York City Transit System, one of the largest and busiest in the world.”

The latest order continues Wabtec’s long track record of working with New York City Transit and with Kawasaki. Most of the Wabtec components will be manufactured in Duncan, S.C.