The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) greenlighted a jaw-dropping $1.5 billion deal Wednesday to purchase hundreds of new subway cars. The MTA board voted to award Kawasaki a lucrative contract to build 378 high-tech R268 trains, replacing the aging cars from the 1980s that have long plagued riders with breakdowns and delays.

“We needed to take that action to protect the riders who otherwise are going to experience these additional breakdowns,” said MTA spokesperson Lieber. “That’s what this is about.”

The funding for this purchase will come from the MTA’s $68.4 billion 2024-2029 Capital Plan. This extensive plan is backed by a combination of dedicated state taxes, federal dollars, and borrowing through bonds. Over the next five years, the MTA aims to buy 1,500 new subway cars at a total cost of $7.6 billion.

Lieber added that the new subway cars will be compatible with the agency’s new, modern signal system currently being installed at certain train stations. “If we had to wait, it might create complexity for the whole Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC) deployment of modern signals. So that’s one of the prompts for doing this as quickly as we did anything else,” Lieber explained.

In addition to this subway car purchase, the MTA recently approved a $2.4 billion order with French train maker Alstom to deliver M-9A railcars for the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Rail Road in June.

Last year, the MTA board authorized a $1.27 billion subway car purchase that added 355 modern R211 subway cars, including 80 European-style “open-gangway” trains to the fleet.

The new R268 cars will run on the “B Division” lines, including routes such as the A, B, C, D, F, G, J, L, M, N, Q, R, and W, according to the MTA’s 2025-2029 Capital Plan.

However, securing funding for the Capital Plan has not been without challenges. The State’s Capital Program Review Board initially rejected the MTA’s $68.4 billion plan because the agency could only identify about half of the necessary funding. Despite this setback, the MTA is moving forward with critical investments aimed at modernizing and improving the subway system for New York City riders.
https://nypost.com/2025/10/30/us-news/mta-drops-1-5b-on-new-fleet-of-subway-cars-in-move-to-avoid-breakdowns/