| R68 (New York City Subway car) | |
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An R68 train at Bay Parkway |
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Interior of an R68 car. |
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| Manufacturer | Westinghouse Amrail Company, ANF Industrie (all cars) Jeumont Schneider (2500-2724), Alsthom (2725-2924) |
| Constructed | 1986–1988 |
| Number built | 425 |
| Number in service | 425 (336 in revenue service during rush hours) |
| Formation | 2500–2915 (416 cars) are linked into 4 car units 2916–2924 (9 cars) remain as single units with OPTO switches added |
| Fleet numbers | 2500–2924 |
| Capacity | 70 (seated) |
| Operator | New York City Subway |
| Depot(s) | Concourse Yard, Coney Island Yard |
| Line(s) served | and |
| Specifications | |
| Car body construction | Stainless steel with fiberglass end bonnets |
| Car length | 75 ft (22.9 m) |
| Width | 10 ft (3.0 m) |
| Height | 12.08 ft (3.7 m) |
| Platform height | 3.76 ft (1.1 m) |
| Doors | 8 |
| Maximum speed | 55 mph (89 km/h) |
| Weight | 92,720 lb (42.1 tonnes) |
| Traction system | AdTranz E-Cam Propulsion Westinghouse 1447J motors 115 hp (85.7555 kW) on all axles |
| Braking system(s) | New York Air Braking (NYAB) GSX23 Newtran "SMEE" braking system, NYAB tread brake rigging model TBU190 |
| Gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) Standard gauge |
The R68 is a type of New York City Subway car for the "B" Division. The 425-car contract was a joint venture of Westinghouse AM-Rail Company, ANF Industrie of Paris, Jeumont Schneider, and Alstom. The cars were built in France from 1986 to 1988 and shipped to New York Harbor. They replaced many R10s, all remaining 6300-series R16s, and some R27/30s.
The R68 was the third R-class contract to be built with 75-foot (23 m) cars, which have more room for sitting and standing passengers per car than the 60-foot (18 m) cars that were used previously. However, because 75-foot (23 m) cars take longer to load and unload and cannot fit in the entire "B" division, orders made afterwards have returned to 60-foot (18 m) cars.
The R68s' manufactures suffered from significant system integration problems. Inadequate communication and coordination between the carbody builder (ANF Industrie) and the chassis assembler (Westinghouse) led to operational failures and the R68s became known as a lemon. However, extensive work performed by the New York City Transit Authority provided solutions to the fleet's many problems.
The R68s' first entry to revenue service was on June 20, 1986 on the D service with the first train consisting of cars 2500-2507. There were two contracts to supply the R68 fleet. The primary order consisted of cars 2500-2724 while the R68-1 option order consisted of cars 2725-2924.
R68s are based out of the Concourse Yard in the Bronx and the Coney Island Complex in Brooklyn and assigned to the B, D, G, and Franklin Avenue Shuttle. The R68s that operate on the Franklin Avenue Shuttle have some noticeable differences from the main line cars. These cars have permanent side signs instead of rollsigns, remain set up as single units with OPTO switches added (unlike the rest of the R68s, which have been configured into sets of four), and car 2923 uses three-piece side windows.
The R68s are scheduled to remain in service until at least 2025[1] and the MTA is proposing mid-life technological upgrades for the fleet including LED destination signs and automated announcements.[2]
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