Transit Briefs: NYCT, NJT, LACMTA, Tri-Rail, Fort Worth

NYCT

MTA NYCT on March 4 introduced two R211Ts from Kawasaki on the G line. The open-gangway cars first began operating on the C line in February 2024.

The R211Ts 2024 debut marked “the first time an open-gangway train has operated in the modern history of subways in the United States,” the MTA reported last year. “The Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT), one of three operating authorities that were precursors to the amalgamated New York City Transit, ran three-car open gangway segments from 1925 to 1965.” These were the BMT D-Type Triplexes, built by Pressed Steel Car Company. One Triplex trainset survives; the New York Transit Museum operates it on special occasions.

Each R211T, in addition to offering an open gangway, includes pre-installed security cameras and features 58-inch-wide door openings, which are eight inches wider than standard door openings on the existing car fleet and are designed to speed boarding and reduce the amount of time trains sit in stations, according to NYCT. The R211Ts also provide additional accessible seating, digital displays with more detailed station-specific information, and brighter lighting and signage, among other features that are said to improve “the customer experience.”

In December 2024, the NYCT Committee approved exercising Option 2 with Kawasaki for 435 additional R211s, including 355 R211A/S (traditional closed-end) cars and 80 R211T open-gangway cars. The option, valued at $1.27 billion, brings the total number of R211s ordered to 1,610. Not including the two newest cars on the G line, there are 345 R211 cars in service throughout the NYCT system, on the A and C lines, and on the Staten Island Railway.

The R211s will eventually replace all R44s on the Staten Island Railway and the current fleet of R46 subway cars, which have been in service on the A and C lines, as well as the N, Q, R and W lines for decades. NYCT said the new option will also allow it to begin replacement of the R68s, which entered service in the mid-1980s and primarily operate on the B, D, N and W lines. The new railcar has an average mean distance between failure (MDBF) rate of approximately 220,000 miles, compared with the R46’s 46,000 miles.

“The innovations we’re bringing to the G Line—New York’s only crosstown subway line—are key to improving service long term for thousands of daily riders in Brooklyn and Queens,” MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said. “That’s why new [rapid transit] cars and modern signals are such huge components of the next MTA Capital Plan—and why Albany needs to fully fund it so we can keep making progress.”

“Between improved reliability, safety enhancements and amenities, R211 [rapid transit] cars will make a world of difference for​ train riders,” NYCT President Demetrius Crichlow said. “The R211s are state of the art and less prone to breakdowns, which means smoother trips and more reliable service for decades to come.”

NJT

NJT on March 5 announced an accelerated plan to replace windows on all Multilevel commuter railcars in revenue service (watch above). The cars were built by Bombardier, which was acquired by Alstom in 2021. President and CEO Kris Kolluri said the agency would complete installation on one-third of the nearly 400-car fleet each year for the next three years.

“NJT understands how the cloudy train windows on our multilevel railcars impacts our customers’ travel experience,” Kolluri said. “Accelerating the timeline for these window replacements reflects NJT’s commitment to continually find ways to improve the customer experience along every aspect of the journey.”

Over time, exposure to elements (acid rain, heat, UV rays) has damaged the polycarbonate window coating, causing the cloudy appearance, according to NJT, which provides more than 925,000 weekday trips on 12 commuter rail and three light rail lines, 263 bus routes, and Access Link paratransit service. Other railroads have experienced similar issues. Through a partnership with Rutgers Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation, NJT has “thoroughly evaluated the current condition of the multilevel railcar windows to determine if the damage could be reversed,” it said, but “refurbishing the windows wasn’t a viable option, so the decision was made to replace them.”

Window replacement has already begun. All replacement materials have been ordered to ensure that the necessary supplies are on-hand to complete installation on the entire fleet of Multilevel II cars in revenue service by Dec. 31, 2025, according to NJT. Replacement of all windows on the entire fleet of nearly 400 Multilevel I and Multilevel II railcars in revenue service are expected to be complete by April 2028. In all, more than 13,000 windows will be replaced, the transit agency reported.

Separately, the New Jersey Governor’s proposed budget for FY 2026 includes a state corporate transit fee to help the financially strapped NJT. Additionally, Alstom on Feb. 24 reported signing a contract valued at more than $25 million to overhaul 209 Multilevel II trucks for NJT.

LACMTA

The LACMTA Board of Directors on Feb. 27 agreed to expand a weapons-screening program that began last August, according to Spectrum News 1.

The pilot program at Los Angeles Union Station and APU/Citrus College Station is testing “the effectiveness of screening systems,” reported the media outlet, which said that one system “had passengers walk through a set of sensors, while another used closed-circuit video feeds to detect people carrying weapons.”

The five-month pilot did not detect any weapons, “but the systems detected officers’ service weapons ‘with 100% accuracy,’” according to county Supervisor and LACMTA Board Member Janice Hahn, Spectrum News 1 said.

LACMTA Deputy Chief of System Security and Law Enforcement Robert Gummer “told the board that security officers witnessed some people leaving the Metro [LACMTA] stations when they saw or were told that the weapons-screening systems were in use, suggesting that the technology served as a deterrent to prevent people from carrying weapons onto the transit system,” according to Spectrum News 1.

The pilot, it reported, will expand “to other ‘high-traffic transit stations’ for a year,” and LACMTA will also start a one-year test of the technology on buses.

According to Spectrum News 1, Janice Hahn said in a post-vote statement: “You can’t bring a weapon to a concert or a Dodger game, and you shouldn’t be able to bring a weapon on Metro. The weapons detection technology we are already testing at some Metro stations works and is showing promise in deterring people from even attempting to bring guns and knives onto Metro. Rider safety needs to be our priority, and it is time to put this technology in more stations.”

Separately, LACMTA recently reported that its ridership was up 8% in 2024.

Tri-Rail

“Three South Florida counties must pay millions of dollars to keep Tri-Rail, the 73-mile commuter rail system, up and running, the executive director of Tri-Rail told leaders Friday [Feb. 28],” reported the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

The money, the newpaper said, would make up “what is projected to eventually be a $90 million annual deficit” when federal COVID-19 relief funding runs out and “state funding ends,” according to South Florida Regional Transportation Authority/Tri-Rail Executive Director David Dech. The railroad has used $70 million of its federal COVID-19 relief funding last year, and Dech said the rest will run out in 18 months, the paper noted.

“The immediate ask from Tri-Rail is $10 million per county to make up a $30 million annual deficit, said David Dech … while he still assured leaders there was ‘not an existential crisis today,’” according to the paper.

The South Florida Sun Sentinel quoted Broward County Commissioner Steve Geller as saying: “I’m very concerned. We have to continue Tri-Rail. … I don’t know how we do it, and I don’t know how we don’t do it.”

According to the newspaper, each county “is already contributing $4.2 million. Other funds include: $60.7 million from the state, which has been contributing since Tri-Rail’s inception in 1989 but has informed Tri-Rail it wants to cut funding to $42 million and then end it completely; $15 million from ridership fares, and $4 million from the federal government. Tri-Rail’s operating budget is $150 million each year.”

Dech told the South Florida Sun Sentinel “that he is ‘not sounding alarm bells’ yet, but said it was ‘conceivable’ the system could one day shut down without additional funds.”

“We’re OK for this year before it becomes a crisis,” he told the newspaper. When the federal COVID-19 relief funding runs out, the paper said, Dech will “need to dip into reserves if no other funding source can be found. And then could come a reduction of service, such as no weekend routes to save money.”

According to the South Florida Sun Sentinel, Miami-Dade County Deputy Director of Transportation & Public Works Sean Adgerson “told planning leaders the request was a ‘challenge’ and urged them to appeal to the state to continue its funding.”

In related news, Tri-Rail recently reported serving 4.4 million riders in calendar-year 2024, marking the first time since 2019 that ridership has exceeded 4 million in a single year. Between 2012 and 2019, Tri-Rail consistently surpassed 4 million annual rides with ridership growing by 1% year-over-year during that period, culminating in its highest ridership year in 2019, it noted.

Tri-Rail’s full ridership recovery was reported last year in March 2024, with an average of 15,000 weekday rides and 8,000 weekend rides that month. By the end of 2024, the system maintained an average of 14,000 weekday and 7,000 weekend rides, including setting a new Saturday ridership record of 10,129 trips on Feb. 24, 2024, according to the railroad.

Fort Worth

“An urban rail system that emanates from downtown Fort Worth and extends to the city’s rapidly growing areas to the north, south and west is among the sweeping transit recommendations a committee of city leaders led by Mayor Mattie Parker proposed Tuesday [March 4],” according to the Fort Worth Report.

The nonprofit news organization said a starter system “could extend about 3 miles in three directions from the downtown center with potential for extensions as the city grows, according to a study by the Mayor’s Urban Rail Committee Supporting Economic Development and Tourism.”

The committee’s study “estimates that the three targeted areas could reach a population of about 20,000 each by 2045, allowing for expansion in those areas as well as to the east side of town,” the Fort Worth Report said.

The proposed rail lines include a 3-mile Northside line serving Panther Island and the Stockyards, which is estimated to cost $285 million-$350 million; a 1.9-mile Near Southside line serving the downtown Central Station to West Magnolia Avenue, which is estimated to cost $220 million-$265 million; and a 3.2-mile Cultural District line serving Central Street to 7th Street and Montgomery Street/Camp Bowie Boulevard, which is estimated to cost $295 million-$360 million.

The 21-page study noted that a rail system, “which would become part of Trinity Metro, would incorporate more than 260 acres of vacant land and 153 acres of parking lots”; the study also included bus rapid transit, streetcar, light rail, heavy rail, and commuter rail alternatives, according to the Fort Worth Report. 

“How do you create better connectivity that also stimulates economic development and growth, and in many ways enhances our traditional modes of transportation and transit here in the city of Fort Worth, but also moves a step forward to what urban rail could look like,” the mayor said, according to the Fort Worth Report. “Once we got a consensus around the table, then it was obvious to us our next step is really around the feasibility study and (to) help us explore what a good urban rail start would look like in Fort Worth.”

The City of Fort Worth and Trinity Metro will now work on a separate transit study, the news organization reported, “to recommend a transportation mode, routes and preliminary stations.”

According to the Fort Worth Report, “establishing a transportation reinvestment zone, tax increment financing, federal and state grants, and commercial and philanthropic sponsors” for such a project would be considered, and a “future referendum on the project could be put forward to voters, as other Texas cities, including Austin and San Antonio, have done for transit proposals.”

The need for “transit solutions,” the news organization said, “comes as data shows traffic congestion in the downtown, Northside and Alliance areas as well as pockets of the city’s far east and west sides.”