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R62 (New York City Subway car)
An R62 Template:NYCS-bull-small train leaving Sutter Avenue – Rutland Road station in Brooklyn.
In service	1983-Present
Manufacturer	Kawasaki Heavy Industries
Built at	Kobe, Japan
Replaced	R12, R14, R15
Constructed	1983-1985
Number built	325
Number in service	315 (260 in revenue service during rush hours)
Number preserved	2
Number scrapped	8
Formation	5 car sets
Fleet numbers	1301-1625
Capacity	42 (seated-A car) 44 (seated-B car)
Operators	New York City Subway
Depots	Livonia Yard, Lenox Yard
Service(s) assigned	Template:NYCS-bull-small
Specifications
Car body construction	Stainless steel with fiberglass end bonnets
Car length	51.04 feet (15.56 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	55 mph (89 km/h)
Weight	74,900 pounds (34,000 kg) (Odd car) 74,540 pounds (33,810 kg) (Even car)
Traction system	General Electric SCM 17KG1924A1 Group General Electric 1257E1 motors
Power output	115 hp (85.8 kW) on all axles
Acceleration	2.5 mph/s (4.0 km/(h⋅s))
Electric system(s)	625 V DC Third rail
Current collector(s)	Contact shoe
Braking system(s)	WABCO RT2 Braking System WABCO Tread Brake Unit
Coupling system	Westinghouse H2C
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge

The R62 is a New York City Subway car built between 1983 and 1985 by Kawasaki Heavy Industries in Kobe, Japan, serving the A Division (IRT). The R62 fleet is numbered 1301 - 1625, totaling to a number of 325 cars. Each car was purchased at an average price of US$918,293.

Specifications

In 1980, with the bus and train fleets in poor shape, the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) was looking into capital maintenance and bond acts to replace its aging fleet of R12/14s from the late 1940s, and R15s & many R17s from the 1950s, and to rebuild or renovate older late 1950s and early 1960s IRT type cars. The plan called for 325 IRT cars, under the R62 contract, ordered on April 12, 1982, and awarded to Kawasaki Heavy Industries of Japan. This was the first time a foreign company was chosen to build cars for the New York City Subway.

The R62 was the first stainless steel and air-conditioned subway car built for the "A" Division. They continued a controversial interior design by employing bucket seating. This reduced the number of seats per car when compared to standard bench seating, but had a higher capacity for standing. This design originated with the R44, and continued with the R62A, R68 and R68A cars. They also feature exterior speakers for the benefit of passengers on the platform. Several cars in the order (1588–90) have bench seating after complaints upon delivery. Bucket seating is no longer used on the newest New York City Subway cars.

The first set of R62s were delivered in October 1983. The cars were built as "single" units, and remained as singles until 1991, when they were linked into 5-car sets to save money and equipment. They entered a 30-day testing program on the 4 train on November 29. At that time, the new cars came as a great relief for IRT riders who were used to non-air conditioned and graffiti-filled trains. After several test runs in early 1984, the R62 cars entered regular service on the 4 service. All 325 cars were in service by August 1985, making the 4 the first entirely graffiti-free service in the system in many years. Kawasaki did not want to build the additional cars the MTA wanted as a separate part of the R62 order (under contract R62A for the same price). Bombardier, an Integrated Transportation rail car company headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, won a contract to supply these additional 825 cars.

The R62s replaced the remaining R12, R14 and R15 subway car classes. Initial replacement of the R62s is scheduled for 2023 with additional replacements in 2026. The MTA is proposing mid-life technological upgrades for the R62s, including LED destination signs and automated announcements.

Accident history

On August 28, 1991, a sleep-deprived and intoxicated motorman crashed a southbound 4 train north of the 14th Street – Union Square station in Manhattan. The train was diverted from the express track to the local due to repairs, and the motorman sped through the switch at 40 m.p.h.; as a result, the first car made the switch while several other cars in the consist did not. Five riders were killed and several dozen were injured. Cars 1435, 1436, 1437, 1439 and 1440 were wrecked in this accident, and are now all scrapped and off MTA property. The remaining five cars of the consist (cars 1431, 1432, 1433, 1434 and 1438) are now unitized.

On October 25, 2000, during the 2000 World Series, a rear-end collision occurred at the Fordham Road station on the IRT Jerome Avenue Line in the Bronx. Car 1369 was scrapped in 2005. Car 1366 and half of car 1370 are at the FDNY Randalls Island training center. Cars 1367 and 1368 were reefed in February 2008.

See also

• R62A (New York City Subway car) - a very similar model also built by Bombardier Transportation Corp.

References

1. MTA Capital Program Oversight Committee Hearing, June 2010 (page 20)
2. Request For Information No. 9003 | Integrated Communications System on NYCT R62/R62A and R68/R68A Class Rail Cars
3. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/08/us/08reef.html

Further reading

• Sansone, Gene. Evolution of New York City subways: An illustrated history of New York City's transit cars, 1867-1997. New York Transit Museum Press, New York, 1997 ISBN 978-0-9637492-8-4

External links

• nycsubway.org – NYC Subway Cars: R62/R62A
• Car Status/Assignment
• Korman, Joe (December 4, 2017). "IRT Car Assignments". JoeKorNer.

• 1983 introductions
• New York City Subway passenger equipment
• Kawasaki rolling stock