R179 (New York City Subway car)

R179
A northbound R179 A train approaching Broad Channel
Interior of an R179 car
In service	2017–present
Manufacturer	Bombardier Transportation
Built at	La Pocatière, Quebec and Plattsburgh, New York
Family name	New Technology Train
Replaced	All remaining R32s and R42s
Constructed	2016–2019
Entered service	Five-car sets: February 10, 2019 Four-car sets: November 19, 2017
Number built	318
Number in service	318 (249 in revenue service during rush hours)
Formation	47 four-car sets (two B cars) 26 five-car sets (three B cars)
Fleet numbers	Five-car sets: 3010–3049, 3238–3327 Four-car sets: 3050–3237
Capacity	40 seating 200 standing (A car) 44 seating 196 standing (B car)
Operators	New York City Subway
Depots	East New York Yard (96 cars) 207th Street Yard (92 cars) Pitkin Yard (130 cars)[1][2]
Service(s) assigned	[3][4] As of June 30, 2024
Specifications
Car body construction	Stainless steel with fiberglass ends and rear bonnets
Train length	4-car train: 242 feet (74 m) 5-car train: 302.5 feet (92.2 m) 8-car train: 484 feet (148 m) 10-car train: 605 feet (184 m)
Car length	60.5 feet (18.4 m)
Width	9.88 feet (3,011 mm)
Height	11.14 feet (3,395 mm)
Floor height	3.734 ft (1.138 m)
Platform height	3.734 ft (1.138 m)
Doors	8 sets of 50 inch wide side doors per car
Maximum speed	55 mph (89 km/h) (Service) 66 mph (106 km/h) (Design)
Weight	80,970 pounds (36,730 kg)
Traction system	IGBT–VVVF (Bombardier MITRAC)
Traction motors	2 or 4[a] Bombardier TM1301SP 3-phase AC induction motors[5]
Acceleration	2.5 mph/s (1.1 m/s2)
Deceleration	3.0 mph/s (1.3 m/s2) (full service) 3.2 mph/s (1.4 m/s2) (emergency)
Electric system(s)	Third rail, 600 V DC
Current collector(s)	Contact shoe
Braking system(s)	Dynamic braking propulsion system; Pneumatic tread brake system
Safety system(s)	Dead man's switch, train stop
Headlight type	Halogen light bulb
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge

The R179 is a class of 318 New Technology Train subway cars built by Bombardier Transportation for the New York City Subway's B Division. Entering service between 2017 and 2020, the cars replaced all remaining R32s and R42s.

The R179 order originally contained 208 cars that were each 75 feet (23 m) long. In the 2010–2014 Capital Program, the order was changed to 290 cars that were 60 feet (18 m) long – similar to the car lengths of the R143 and R160 cars – with options for up to 130 more cars. The majority of the R179s were supposed to be in 300-foot-long (91 m) five-car sets because the R179s would be replacing the 75-foot-long R44s, which were arranged in 300-foot-long four-car sets. A minority of the R179s were to be arranged in 240-foot-long (73 m) four-car sets. In 2011, the order was reduced to 300 60-foot-long cars with no additional option orders. Because of the R44s' earlier than planned retirement (except the Staten Island Railway cars) and the R32s and R42s assigned to services utilizing eight-car trains at the time, the setup was reversed, with the majority of the R179s being arranged in four-car sets.

The $599 million contract for the R179s' construction was awarded to Bombardier in 2012. At the time, the first R179 train was set to be delivered in December 2014 and the last train would be delivered in July 2017. Because of manufacturing defects during the construction process, the timeline for delivery was pushed back two years, and the cost of the contract rose to $735 million. The first R179 cars were delivered in September 2016, and the first test train of eight cars was placed in service in November 2017. The test train passed its 30-day in-service test in December 2017, which allowed the remaining R179s to be gradually placed in service. All cars were expected to be delivered by early 2019. However, starting in December 2018, several cars had to be withdrawn from service due to defects, and in January 2019, deliveries were temporarily halted while these defects were being fixed. The fleet was temporarily removed from service in January and June 2020 following separate incidents during these months.

In January 2018, sixteen more cars were added to the order as part of a settlement so that there would be 24 five-car sets instead of the 8 originally projected and 49 four-car sets instead of the original 65. In January 2019, two more cars were added to the order as a part of a settlement for further damages. All cars were delivered by December 2019, and had entered service by March 2020.

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