The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is seeking proposals from railcar manufacturers for its largest subway car contract in history with a base order of 1,140 subway cars to replace the R62 and R62A fleets operating on the 1, 3, 6 lines, and if an option to purchase the additional 1,250 cars is exercised, to replace the R142 and R142A cars on the 2, 4, 5 lines.
"Thanks to Governor Hochul, the MTA has a historic $68 billion 2025-2029 Capital Plan, and New Yorkers are seeing a Golden Age of transit investment,” said MTA Chair/CEO Janno Lieber. “So much of our capital investment goes unseen, but this next subway car order — our largest ever — is a major step to visibly delivering the modern transit system New Yorkers deserve."
MTA’s Railcar RFP
In total, the contract includes 2,390 new subway cars — more cars than the Chicago Transit Authority subway fleet and Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority’s combined, said MTA officials.
The new cars, model R262, will be funded by the MTA’s 2025-29 Capital Plan, which received a historic $68 billion in funding from Governor Hochul and the State Legislature in the FY26 Enacted State Budget. This Capital Plan represents the largest investment in new rolling stock in the MTA's history.
The purchase also includes funds made available through the 2020-2024 Capital Plan, which is supported by congestion pricing revenues.
New Contracting Methods
With a new Rolling Stock Program in place, the MTA has approached this contract differently, modernizing the terms and conditions and encouraging innovation by giving manufacturers greater flexibility to propose new ideas, according to officials.
More than 60% of the technical specifications are now also performance-based rather than design-driven, and for the first time, the terms request that proposers submit total cost of ownership projections. These efforts result in a streamlined contract that balances the current challenges contractors face with the authority's need to retain the tools necessary to deliver the quality car riders deserve on time.
The historic car contract could replace up to 36.4% of the subway’s entire fleet — 17.3% with just the base order alone. The subway’s entire fleet consists of 6,574 cars.
The new cars will significantly improve reliability, with a higher mean distance between failures (MDBF) — a measure of how long a car can operate without issues, repairs, or maintenance. The R262 has an MDBF requirement of 200,000 miles, compared to the R62/R62A’s average of 89,000 miles. This upgrade will reduce the number of problems customers experience en route and decrease the amount of time cars are taken out of service.
The Request for Proposals (RFP) outlines additional technical specifications designed to enhance efficiency, security, performance, and the customer experience. These include higher-quality announcement systems and assistive listening devices that allow deaf passengers to connect to personal devices, such as hearing aids.
In addition, the RFP states that the future order will include a to-be-determined number of open gangway cars, which would be a first for the A-Division, the numbered lines. Efficiency upgrades include installing an automatic passenger counting (APC) system and an electric braking control to achieve savings by using fewer parts.
Meanwhile, security specifications include onboard cameras, such as those currently installed on the existing subway fleet, and platform-edge CCTV, along with an electronic lock to prevent unauthorized cab access.
Proposals are due September 8, and a contract is expected to be awarded by early 2028.
