The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is seeking a company to fulfill the largest investment in new subway and railroad cars the agency has ever purchased, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said.
The MTA Capital Plan replaces the R62 and R62A fleets on the 1, 3, and 6 lines, a total of 1,140 subway cars. If an option to purchase additional cars is exercised, MTA will purchase an additional 1,250 cars to replace the R142 and R142A cars on the 2, 4, and 5 lines.
“Thousands of new subway cars running better service and a more reliable ride for millions every day — that’s what we can achieve when we fully invest in transit,” Hochul said. “We are in the midst of a public transit renaissance in New York, with growing ridership, the best service in a generation and historic investments to modernize the lifeblood of our city. By bringing even more open gangway cars to the subway, we can make real improvements to riders’ safety and overall experience.”
With a contract that could include 2,390 subway cars, the order represents more cars than the Chicago Transit Authority subway fleet and the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority’s fleet combined. The new cars, model R626, will be funded by the MTA’s 2025-2029 Capital Plan, which received $68 billion in funding from the 2026 State Budget. The purchase also includes funds from the 2020-2024 Capital Plan, supported by congestion pricing revenues.
The new Rolling Stock Program allows the MTA to approach the contract with modernized terms and conditions, while encouraging innovation by giving manufacturers greater flexibility to propose new ideas. More than 60 percent of the technical specifications are performance-based, and for the first time, officials said, the terms request that proposers submit a total cost of ownership along with the pricing.
“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,” MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said. “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.”
The contract could replace more than a third (36 percent) of the subway’s 6,574 car fleet. The new cars will significantly improve reliability, officials said, and will decrease the amount of time cars are taken out of service for maintenance and repairs.
Proposals are due Sept. 8, 2026, and a contract is expected to be awarded by early 2028.