New York City Subway Page

The New York City Subway is the largest rapid transit system in the United States, and one of the largest in the world. With 468 subway stations, the NYC Subway has the most stations of any subway system in the world, and it is third in the world in terms of route mileage with 209 miles or 337 km, behind Shanghai and London. The Subway is also one of only four rapid transit rail systems in the United States to offer service 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, along with portions of the Chicago 'L' system, PATH, and PATCO. Unlike most subway systems, NYC Subway routes change frequently, with 24 routes in operation in 2011 including three shuttle routes. Local and express service is offered in all boroughs except Staten Island, and several routes can serve a station on the same tracks, meaning that riders need to determine which train is approaching before boarding the train.

The first sections of underground railway in Manhattan opened in 1904, and this is regarded as the founding of the Subway, though elevated rail transit service began as far back as 1868. By 1940, three subway systems were operating in competition with one another: the privately-owned Interborough Rapid Transit Company and Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation, and the city-owned Independent Subway System. When the city took over the two private companies, it formed two divisions and began to integrate the networks, closing elevated lines in Manhattan. The IRT became A Division and the BMT and IND became B Division, and each division maintains it own rolling stock, with A Division trains being shorter and narrower than B Division trains. Because of the difference in the size of the rolling stock, A Division trains cannot operate in passenger service on B Division routes as platforms would be too far away from the trains, and B Division trains cannot fit in A Division tunnel segments. Routes are indicated by numbers for A Division and letters for B Division.

In total, there are nearly 6300 subway cars in New York Subway service, with each model being identified with an R- number, indicating the contract under which the cars were purchased. Cars purchased under different contracts can often be very similar to each other, with the only difference being when the trains were ordered or the manufacturer which built the trains.

All photos are by Oren Hirsch and are featured on Oren's Transit Page unless stated otherwise.

A Division (Former IRT)

	The “Train of Many Colors” operates in late 2004 as a Subway Centennial special on the 7 train. This train consists of R12, R15, R17, and R33 cars manufactured between 1948 and 1963, and is preserved as part of the New York Transit Museum Fleet. (© 2004 Metropolitan Transportation Authority)
	5292 heads a train of Standard Lo-V cars entering Gun Hill Road Station in the Bronx on a fantrip on June 20, 2009. The Lo-V cars were built by the Pullman Company and American Car & Foundry between 1917 and 1925 and remained in service until 1964. 5292 was built in 1917.
	5760 is an R12 car, shown at Gun Hill Road Station on a fantrip on June 20, 2009. The R12 cars were built by American Car & Foundry in 1948 and were retired in 1981.
	6609 is an R17 car, seen at South Ferry Station in lower Manhattan on a fantrip on June 20, 2009. Built by the St. Louis Car Company between 1955 and 1956, the R17 cars were in service until 1988.
	An R33 train is seen passing through East Tremont Avenue Station in the Bronx on November 29, 2002. One of New York’s famous Redbird trains, the R33 trains were built by the St. Louis Car Company between 1962 and 1963 and operated until 2003. The red paint scheme was used to combat the rampant graffiti problem that plagued New York Subway trains during the 1970s and early 1980s.
	9532 is an R36 car spotted leaving 77th Street Station in the Upper East Side on December 22, 2000. The R36 cars were built by the St. Louis Car Company in 1963 and 1964 and were retired along with the rest of the Redbirds in 2003.
	R36 WF car 9643 is shown leaving 33rd–Rawson Street Station in Queens on August 20, 2001. Ordered especially for the 1964 World’s Fair, the R36 WF cars were ordered along with the R36 cars and featured larger side windows than the R36 Mainline trains.
	1355 is an R62 car, seen leaving Bedford Park Blvd. Station in the Bronx on November 29, 2002. The R62 cars were built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries between 1983 and 1985 and are the oldest A Division trains in service as of 2011.
	1944 is an R62A car, spotted at 74th Street–Broadway Station in Queens on January 15, 2005. Similar to the R62 cars, the R62A cars were built by Bombardier Transportation between 1984 and 1987.
	6721 heads a train of R142 cars at South Ferry Station on October 9, 2005. The R142 cars were built by Bombardier Transportation between 1999 and 2003.
	A New York City Subway train of R142A stock is seen approaching Parkchester Station in the Bronx on September 10, 2006. (Photo by The Port of Authority)
	7341 leads a train of R142A cars at Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall Station in Lower Manhattan on August 6, 2002. Similar to the R142 cars, the R142A cars were built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries between 1999 and 2004.

B Division (Former BMT/IND)

	BMT D-Type 6112C is shown on a fan trip at Rockaway Park Station in Queens on June 17, 2001. These trains, also known as Triplex trains, were built by the Pressed Steel Company and delivered to the BMT between 1927 and 1928, and were built in articulated three-car sets. The last D-Type trains were taken out of service in 1965.
	The “Centennial Holiday Shopper’s Special” is a train of preserved R1, R4, R7A, and R9 cars that ran during the Subway Centennial in late 2004 on the Brighton Line. (© 2004 Metropolitan Transportation Authority)
	100 is a preserved R1 car, seen at Second Avenue Station in the Lower East Side on December 16, 2007. Built by American Car & Foundry between 1930 and 1931 and delivered to the Independent Subway System, these cars are virtually identical to the R4, R6, R7, R7A, and R9 cars. Most R1 trains were retired by 1969, though some soldiered on until 1977.
	484 is a preserved R4 car shown at Columbus Circle in Manhattan’s West Side on November 7, 2004. The R4 cars were built by American Car & Foundry between 1932 and 1933 and were retired in 1977.
	1802 is an R9 car seen at 23rd Street Station in Chelsea on December 16, 2007. Built by the Pressed Steel Company in 1940, the R9 cars were the last New York Subway cars built before the Second World War, and they remained in service until 1977.
	3428 heads an R32 train spotted leaving 80th Street Station in Ozone Park in Queens on June 28, 2010. The oldest subway cars in service as of 2011, the R32 cars were built by the Budd Company between 1964 and 1965 and have outlasted some of the trains ordered to replace them.
	3978 was an R38 car, seen at Chambers Street Station near City Hall on January 16, 2009. Similar to the R32 cars, the R38 cars were built by the St. Louis Car Company between 1966 and 1967, and were retired in March 2009 once the R160 trains entered service.
	R40 car 4422 was spotted at Beach 67th Street Station near Rockaway Park in Queens on January 16, 2009. The slanted front end of these trains was meant to be an advanced, sleek design but the NYCTA determined that it was dangerous for passengers walking between subway trains, so future orders had a more conventional flat front end. The R40 cars were built by the St. Louis Car Company in 1968 and 1969 and were retired in June 2009.
	This R40A was train at Beverley Road Station in Flatbush on January 17, 2005. Built by the St. Louis Car Company in 1968 and 1969, the last R40A train was withdrawn from service in August 2009.
	4741 heads a train of R42 cars at Parkside Avenue Station in Flatbush on March 5, 2005. The R42 cars were build by the St. Louis Car Company between 1968 and 1970, and a few are still in service as of 2011 though most have been retired.
	5410 was spotted entering Beach 25th Street Station in Far Rockaway on June 28, 2010. An R44 train, it was one of 342 cars built by the St. Louis Car Company between 1971 and 1973 for the New York City Subway and the Staten Island Railway. Because of structural integrity issues, all of the R44 cars were retired from the Subway in September 2010, though the Staten Island trains are still in service as of 2011.
	R46 car 5852 is shown leaving 80th Street Station in Queens on June 28, 2010. These trains were built by the Pullman Company between 1975 and 1978.
	2664 is an R68 car, spotted entering 18th Avenue Station in Bensonhurst in Brooklyn on June 24, 2010. The R68 cars were built as a joint venture of Westinghouse AM-Rail Company, ANF Industrie of Paris, Jeumont Schneider, and Alstom, and were built in France between 1986 and 1988.
	5178 heads an R68A train at Prospect Park Station in Brooklyn on January 17, 2005. Built in Kobe, Japan, by Kawasaki Rail Car Company, these trains entered service between 1988 and 1989.
	8292 is an R143 car seen at Myrtle Avenue Station in Bushwick in Brooklyn on June 28, 2010. The R143 cars were built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries between 2001 and 2003.
	R160A car 8818 was spotted leaving Avenue J Station in Midwood in Brooklyn on April 15, 2011. The newest subway trains so far, the R160A trains were built by Alstom Transportation between 2005 and 2010.
	9138 heads an R160B train entering Broadway Station in Astoria in Queens on June 25, 2010. Nearly identical to the R160A trains, the R160B cars were built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries between 2005 and 2010.

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