The Metropolitan Transportation Authority today announced that it will offer tours to the public – and solicit feedback – of a prototype of its newest class of subway cars over the next week.

Customers will have the opportunity to see the new car design and its features up close from Thursday, Nov. 30 through Wednesday, December 6. at the 7 line subway station mezzanine at 34^th Street - Hudson Yards. The prototype will be open for public viewing from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m on weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.  MTA staff will be on-hand to take feedback and help customers fill out surveys on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Customers are welcome to tweet their thoughts to @MTA, @NYCTSubway or write to us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MTANewYorkCityTransit. There will also be a link available on mta.info for customer feedback.

“Developing a first-in-class subway car is an essential part of modernizing our subway system,” said MTA Chairman Joseph Lhota.  “It is important that our subway customers provide their feedback in this process and we hope they will do so after visiting the prototype. Ultimately, our customers will be riding these cars each day and their input is very important.”

The New Technology R211 cars feature 58-inch door spans, which are eight inches wider than standard doors on existing cars.  The expanded doors are designed to reduce delays and speed up train movement by speeding boarding and reducing the amount of time trains sit in stations.  The cars also include digital displays that will provide real-time information about service and stations, new grab rails including double-poles, brighter lighting, signage, and safety graphics.  Some of the initial R211 cars will feature, as a pilot program, an “open gangway” located at the ends of the cars. This open design features soft accordion-like walls, and allows riders to move freely between cars to reduce crowding and distribute passenger loads more evenly throughout the train.

The feedback will be shared with the car’s designers and the Car Equipment Division of NYC Transit to help better inform how the cars are ultimately produced.

Delivery of new cars for testing will begin in 2020.  The new cars will ultimately operate on the “B Division” of the subway, which are the lettered routes, as well as the Staten Island Railway.