Daniel Convissor's Website

NYC Transit New Technology Test Train Programs

Table of Contents:

• June 1995
• October 1995
• March 1996

There is a request for the Board to modify the Capital Program to authorize a budget for design and specification for procurement of railcars.

"Much of the A Division [IRT: 2/3/4/5] rolling stock (R26 through R36) will be between 35 and 40 years by the year 1999. Although the B Division rolling stock (R40 through R68) will not fall into this category by the year 1999, it will however require replacement in the year 2004, the Capital Program following the next Capital Program. This project would meet the NYC Transit's goal of developing technical specifications to form the basis of the procurement of new technology based railcars in 1997 as part of the next Capital Program to continue normal replacement of the fleet and for future B Division new service requirements such as the 'V' line for the 63rd St Tunnel Connection slated for 2001. This project will determine the composition of equipment for both the A and B Divisions."

"The transition from specific technologies being tested on the R110A and R110B is not a simple copy but requires substantial analysis and therefore requires a combination of efforts from both consultants and in-house engineering. The combined efforts will yield the formulation of specifications, to produce design drawings for the future car procurement based on the performance and reliability of the NTT program and to ensure that the design goals are met. The three reasons for this program are as follows:

1. The systems supplied on the R110A and R110B trains were designed with the intent of demonstrating their reliability and evaluating customer response. The refinement of the system designs based on the lessons learned during the test program is essential.

2. A thorough economic analysis based on life cycle costing is required to reduce long term costs. Some, but not all of the parameters to be evaluated are:
   • Train configuration - initial costs and maintenance costs vs spare parts availability vs. spare trains.
   • Weight and power costs vs. initial cost
   • Distribution of tractive effort vs. performance vs. weight vs. initial cost.
   • Cost of passenger amenities vs. customer acceptance.

3. The growth in technology require that we evaluate where each technology is on the learning curve and insure that we are taking advantage of improvements without excessive risk. All of the design decisions on the new technology test trains were based on the technology available five years ago."

NYCT plans to hire LTK/STV Joint Venture as technical consultants for the design and procurement of a new generation of subway cars. The contract is valued at $2.5m. The consultants will aid NYCT with specification drawings, evaluation/technical negotiations with prospective builders. The will provide expertise in the use of microprocessors in vehicle area networks and real time control systems, software engineering and documentation, communication protocols, define requirements for safe/esthetic/ergonomic passenger/crew environment, and identifying/developing/establishing appropriate standards to incorporate into the specifications.

The two New Technology Test trains (R110A and R110B), delivered in the last quarter of 1992, began customer service in June 1993. The Performance and Reliability Demonstration Test (P&RDT) for the R110B was completed in March 1996. The 100,000 Mean Distance Between Service Interruptions (MDBSI) goal has been met. The P&RDT for the R110A, is scheduled to be completed in August 1996.

R110A Removals from Customer Service:

• 3-Jan-96 and 23-Feb-96: Door system malfunctions, resuming service on 5-Jan-96 and 26-Feb-96 respectively.
• 8-Jan-96 through 11-Jan-96: Blizzard blocked departure from yard.
• 12-Jan-96: To accommodate New Technology Implementation personel [sic].
• 9-Feb-96: Special trip for MTA Budget Director, Mark Shaw.
• 29-Feb-96: Brakes in Emergency, resumed service on the same day.
• 1-Mar-96: Smoke issuing from a parking brake, resumed service on 11-Mar-96.

R110B Removals from Customer Service:

• 3-Jan-96: End door becoming unlocked, resumed service 4-Jan-96.
• 8-Jan-96: Blizzard caused discovery that software had low temperature limits improperly set, condition corrected and service resumed on 11-Jan-96.
• 29-Jan-96: Tested on E line, resumed service the next day.
• 7-Mar-96: Scheduled inspection, resumed service on 11-Mar-96.
• 25-Mar-96: Week long training session to finalize application of the sign and announcement programming.

• Up to my MTA Page
  • Bus Technology Programs Page
  • MetroCard Page
  • Agenda Highlights: NYC Transit Committee