R188 (New York City Subway car)

"R188" redirects here. For the road, see Route 188.

R188 (New York City Subway car)
File:New R-188 Trains (14581509758).jpg An R188 train running on the local, departing Queensboro Plaza, bound for Flushing – Main Street.
In service	2013-present
Manufacturer	Kawasaki Rail Car Company
Built at	Yonkers, New York, US and Kobe, Hyōgo, JP
Family name	R100-R199 R type contract series, NTT (new technology train)
Replaced	most R62As on the (reassigned to the , not scrapped)
Constructed	2011–2016
Entered service	December 15, 2013
Number built	506 (126 new cars, 380 conversions)
Number in service	462 (308 in revenue service during rush hours)
Formation	5-car sets (A-C-B-B-A) 6-car sets (A-C-B-B-B-A)
Fleet numbers	Conversion Sets: 7211-7590 New Sets: 7811-7898 New "C" Cars: 7899-7936
Capacity	176 (A car) 188 (B & C cars)
Operator(s)	New York City Subway
Depot(s)	Corona Yard
Service(s) assigned	– 297 cars
Specifications
Car body construction	Stainless steel with fiberglass end bonnets
Train length	11 car train: 564.63 feet (172.10 m)
Car length	51.33 feet (15.65 m)
Width	8.60 feet (2,621 mm)
Height	11.89 feet (3,624 mm)
Platform height	3.6458 ft (1.11 m)
Doors	6 per car
Maximum speed	Service Design
Weight	"A" car: 73,332 pounds (33,263 kg) "B" and "C" cars: 67,721 pounds (30,718 kg)
Traction system	Bombardier MITRAC propulsion system, 3-Phase AC Traction Motors Model 1508C
Prime mover(s)	electric motor
Power output	150 hp (111.855 kW) per motor axle 4,500 hp (3,355.649 kW) per 11 car train
Acceleration	2.5 mph/s (1.1 m/s2)
Deceleration	2.5 mph/s (1.1 m/s2) (full service), 3.2 mph/s (1.4 m/s2) (emergency)
Power supply	Third rail
Electric system(s)	625 V DC
Current collection method	Contact shoe
Braking system(s)	Dynamic braking propulsion system; tread brake system
Safety system(s)	emergency brakes
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)

The R188 is an A Division new technology (NTT) car for the New York City Subway. The MTA is displacing the R62As from the 7 <7> services with these cars to automate the IRT Flushing Line. The R188 is part of both the fourth and fifth generation of New York City Subway A Division rolling stock; many fourth-generation R142As are being converted to R188s, along with deliveries of new R188 cars. The R188s comprise fleet numbers #7211-7590 and #7811-7936.

In addition to providing six extra 11-car trains for the 7 Subway Extension, the R188s will allow twenty R62A cars to be freed up for the other IRT services.

Timeline and composition of trainsets

All planned orders	# of conversion cars		# of new C cars		# of new A & B cars
	Total		Total		Total
	Main order	Option order	Main order	Option order	Main order	Option order
Original order	140		46		320
	10	130	3	43	20	300
2010–2014 Capital Program	360		46		100
	10	350	3	43	20	80
Modification	380		46		80
	10	370	3	43	20	60

At the time that the R188 order was placed, forty R62A 11-car trainsets were assigned to the 7 service. The R188 order originally consisted of 186 new cars, as well as 131 converted R142A cars compatible with communication-based train control (CBTC) and an additional 189 R142A conversion kits for MTA, totaling a possible 506 cars, or in other words, 46 11-car trains. Given this number, it can be deduced that 230 of these cars will be arranged in 5-car sets while the remaining 276 cars will be arranged in 6-car sets. Six extra R188 trainsets were ordered in conjunction with CBTC installation and 7 Subway Extension.

According to the 2010–2014 capital plan, 146 new cars were to be purchased. Of these new cars, 110 cars would go to make up 10 new 11-car trains, while the remaining 36 cars were to be "C" cars that would go to expanding 36 CBTC upgraded R142A 5-car sets (360 existing cars) to 6-car length. The original planned total of 46 11-car trains (506 cars) would still result from this order.

In the latest revision, however, only 88 new cars were to be purchased to form 8 new 11-car trains, with 38 "C" cars, rather than ten 11-car trains. Likewise, the number of conversion cars was altered to 370. This change was made with the knowledge that only two ten-car R62A growth sets for the mainline IRT would be needed, as opposed to the projected four sets, and thus the MTA and Kawasaki opted to convert two additional R142A train sets in place of manufacturing two new sets. The MTA also decided to have Kawasaki perform all of the conversions at the Yonkers plant instead of 207th Street Shop as part of that contract modification.

Contract

R188s 7811-7821 testing on the IRT Dyre Avenue Line at Gun Hill Road

R188 destination sign

The R188 contract was awarded in spring 2010 to Kawasaki Heavy Industries, who won by default since only two manufacturers qualified and Bombardier Transportation opted not to bid on the contract citing the small order and large requirement for engineering resources. The contract was specified at $87,094,272 for the base order, which consisted of 33 cars (23 new cars and 10 conversions), and $384,315,168 for the option order, which consisted of 473 cars (123 new cars, and 350 conversions) for a total price of $471,409,440.

According to a February 2012 update, the MTA had expected to have 8 conversion sets in service by the time that the 7 Subway Extension is opened for revenue service. In addition, the breakdown of the trainsets has been disclosed. Operationally, the R188s are coupled as such: A-C-B-B-A+A-B-B-B-C-A; where dashes signify link bars and the addition sign denotes couplers. Thirty-eight R142A B cars, therefore, will be converted into R188 "C" cars, in addition to the 38 deliveries of new "C" cars (not including the "C" cars in the eight new 11-car sets).

Revenue service

The 10 converted R142A cars from the base order (#7211-7220) were completed in December 2011 at Kawasaki's Yonkers facility, and were delivered for testing on the Flushing line in 2012. The 23 new cars from the base order (two eleven-car sets, #7811-7832, and one conversion set "C" car, #7899) were completed in mid-2012, delivered in November 2013, and entered service in December 2013. The 66 new option cars (#7833-7898) were also completed in mid-2012 and have been delivered, while the remaining 37 new cars and the 370 conversions were set to be converted and delivered from February 2014 until the 4th quarter of 2015.

On November 9, 2013, the first R188 train, consisting of cars #7811-7821, were placed in service on the 7 train as part of its 30-day revenue acceptance test. After successful completion, it entered revenue service by December 15, 2013. As of November 23, 2015, a total of 35 trains have been conditionally accepted (the 8 new train sets and the first 27 conversion sets).

By July 2014, the delivery schedule had slipped by about 6–7 months. All remaining R188 cars are are expected to be delivered by the end of July 2016.

Recorded announcements

Interior of an R188 subway car

The announcements on the R188 cars were originally by Annie Bergen. These were produced along with the recorded announcements for the other IRT Services prior to the delivery of the R142 and R142As. However, portions of her original recordings were re-recorded by either Catherine Cowdery or Kathleen Campion, the voices of the R143 and R160 car announcements, respectively. Bergen's voice still remains, albeit spliced in between the latter two's recordings. The original LED/LCD sign display programs and recordings existed on the R142s and R142As but were never used.

Differences between the R142/As and R188s

There are a few differences between the R142/As and R188s, even though they look and sound the same:

• The R188s have a CBTC equipment package cabinet installed right behind on the right side of the bulkheads on the motorman's cabs, and is very visible from within the passengers compartment areas, while the remaining R142As and all R142s do not have this equipment or feature. Also, the existing flip-up handicapped seats behind the motorman's full-width cabs have been removed to facilitate the installation of said equipment.
• The R188s have sets consisting of 6 cars and 5 cars, while the R142/As have sets of 5 cars sets only.
• The numbers on the newer R188s are a bolder version of Helvetica lettering; a similar font is used on the R160s.
• The R188s use the lower pitched version of the R142/A cars Westminster door closing chime, as heard on the R143 and R160 cars.
• When arriving at any terminal served by the 7, the R188 keeps the destination display until the conductor opens the doors, after which it'll display LAST STOP; this, however, happens earlier on the R142/As when arriving at any mainline terminal before the conductor opens the doors. A similar scenario happens on the R143 and R160 cars.
• The strip map lights on the R142/As have a blink delay before any mainline stop is announced, while the strip map lights on the R188 don't have it before any stop served by the 7 is announced; a similar behavior exists on the R143 with its strip map lights and the R160 with its Flexible Information Notice Display.
• The R188 information announcements regarding train direction, destination, and the next stop are announced immediately after the doors are completely open, which forces the destination display to restart itself on the destination sign (this also happens on the R143 and R160 cars), while the R142/As information announcements are played as the doors open with the destination display not restarting itself on the destination sign.
• The buzzer sound from the R188 public intercom system (known as the Public Address system by NYCTA personnel) is at a low volume compared to the one first introduced on the R142/A cars; that buzzer used by the R188 was first heard on the R143 and R160 cars.
• When it comes to the emergency intercom, the red button to signal it is in a black rim on the R142/A cars, while it's pushed in with a black outline on the R188 (this type was first introduced on the R143 and R160 cars).
• Technometers exist in the two C cars on an R188, while the R142/As don't have technometers installed.
• The R188 and R142/As use different door motors; the R142/As use Vapor door motors, while the R188s use Fuji door motors.

See also

• Other New Technology Trains:
  • R142A (New York City Subway car) - a similar car built by Kawasaki Railcar. Most R188s will be converted from R142As.
  • R142 (New York City Subway car) - a similar car built by Bombardier Transportation
  • R143 (New York City Subway car) - a similar car built by Kawasaki Railcar for the B Division that also has CBTC
  • R160 (New York City Subway car) - a similar car to the R143 built by Alstom for the B Division; some cars also have CBTC

External links

• nycsubway.org - NYC Subway Cars: R188
• IRT Car Assignments - December 6, 2015
• New York City Subway Car Fleet June 2010 through December 2015
• Kawasaki Rail Car, Inc.: R188
• Car Status/Assignment