Commuters enter a subway train in New York City (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Reporting Alex Silverman
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) – The oldest cars in the city’s subway system are on their last legs, but they aren’t going away any time soon.
LISTEN: WCBS 880′s Alex Silverman reports
They creak and they squeak along the A and C lines and you would too if you’ve been at it for 47 years.
The retirement age for the oldest cars in the system was supposed to be 40, but thanks to MTA budget cuts, new cars aren’t coming until 2017 when the old R-32s will be 53-years-old.
They’re the ones with the charcoal grey seats and already break down three times more often than the fleet as a whole.
The MTA says to keep them running, they actually have to create 52 positions and spend $8 million a year.
Do you think the old subway cars should be replaced sooner rather than later? Sound off below in our comments section…
7 Comments
New York Transit regularly doe not fix subway cars with lifethreatening problems such as defective breaks or doors flying open between stations. I am a former conductor pass 855679 and will give car numbers to anyone that wants. I can be contacted at my answering service 801 760 5511 anytime
July 31, 2011 at 3:05 pm
I’ve yet to see a CLEAN subway station or subway car in NYC. And service is horrible. For all the money MTA receives, from fares to employer taxes to property taxes and even telephone tax you would think they have too much money. MTA pays top dollar to all of its employees and yet service is horrible and nothing is clean. Fire ALL MTA employees or make the actually WORK and EARN their money like all the NY’ers who depend upon subway and bus service. I have to pay $2.25 to ride the subway, plus I pay for it again in multiple taxes. So very unfair. Where was the PUBLIC vote to APPROVE giving MTA all of this PUBLIC tax money??
July 31, 2011 at 2:55 pm
Cents for Transit
July 31, 2011 at 1:37 pm
I think this is the best chance for the MTA Board to roll up their sleeves and come with new and innovative ways to not only bring in better ways to service costumers, but invest in new kinds of technologies that would be efficient and cheaper to produce. That also includes getting new people with fresh ideas.
July 31, 2011 at 8:52 am
Hope james isn’t an MTA worker…
Times is tough. People got to learn to make things last or do without. Unless the MTA can prove getting new trains would save us money i think we should make the best with what we’ve got.
July 30, 2011 at 5:23 pm
The R-32 Fleet was supposed to have been completely retired at this point with the new cars that the TA already has……But unfortunately the TA found major structural issues with the R-44 fleet(placed into service in 1971) so those cars were retired instead of the remaining R-32 and R42 fleets…….In the meantime these R-32 cars are being used in rockaway park shuttle service which means much less mileage for these cars and the R-46 fleet that was on that line is now being used for C service
July 30, 2011 at 5:07 pm
Hiiiiiiiii
July 30, 2011 at 5:04 pm