MTA’s Customer-Centered New Subway Cars of 2020
Can new subway cars to be less of a crowded and disconnected nightmare?
Connected, clean, efficient and modern. When thinking of New York’s MTA subway cars, these words are not usually the first that come to mind. But, how might new subway cars look? According to renderings released by MTA, the trains of the not-so-distant future will boast more space, better conditions for passengers and enhanced connectivity.
Designs from the New York MTA reveal that future subway trains will usher in a return of open gangway trains. The design brief issued by the city set out clear design objectives: the new trains should have expanded capacity, increased safety and reliability, improved energy efficiency and enhanced communications in the vehicle.
With the proposed open gangway prototype with a space optimized interior configuration, the trains will have meet all these requirements. For example, each car will have in-car CCTV cameras, updated crash energy management technology, digital video screens, wireless maintenance diagnostics, intelligent heating/cooling, LED lighting, energy-efficient electronics, upgraded regenerative braking and customer charging stations with Wi-Fi.
When might we see any progress toward making these designs a reality? The process has not moved too quickly. First, the design process started back in December of 2012; it’s forecasted that the completion of the design phase will end in early 2016. This is where we stand four years later. (It’s expected that the contract will be awarded in early 2017, with construction commencing shortly after that, carrying the project through into 2020).
The open style of the trains is inspired and shares similar design qualities with the public transit cars found in Toronto, London and Paris. In these cars, passengers can spread out the full length of the train instead of cramming like sardines. This open style could increase capacity by 10 percent. New York City will be piloting this project with a train that has a length of 10 cars for full-length train divided into two sections.
New Yorkers are no strangers to the uncomfortable aspects of subway transit. Maybe, these updates can make the experience a bit more pleasant (in due time).
Images:
Subway tunnel with blurred light tracks via Shutterstock
Subway train in New York at sunset via Shutterstock
Originally published at www.psfk.com on January 28, 2016.