R68 (New York City Subway car)
| R68 | |
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A R68 train on the
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Interior of an R68 car.
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| In service | 1986-present |
| Manufacturer | Westinghouse-Amrail Company: Westinghouse, ANF Industrie (all cars) Jeumont Schneider (2500-2724), Alsthom (2725-2924) |
| Family name | SMEE |
| Replaced | Many R10s, remaining R16s, many R27s, and some R30s |
| Constructed | 1986–1988 |
| Entered service |
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| Number built | 425 |
| Number in service | 425 (344 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(s) | New York City Subway |
| Depot(s) |
Concourse Yard (268 cars) Coney Island Yard (157 cars) |
| Service(s) assigned |
 – 40 cars (5 trains, AM rush)(5 trains, AM rush) – 32 cars (4 trains, PM rush)  – 232 cars (29 trains, AM rush)– 216 cars (27 trains, PM rush) – 52 cars (13 trains)  – 24 cars (3 trains) – 4 cars (2 trains) |
| Specifications | |
| Car body construction | Stainless steel with fiberglass end bonnets |
| Train length | 2 car train: 150 feet (46 m) 4 car train: 300 feet (91 m) 8 car train: 600 feet (180 m) |
| Car length | 74 ft 8.5 in (22.77 m) (over anticlimbers) |
| Width | 10 ft (3,048 mm) (over threshold) |
| Height | 12.08 ft (3,682 mm) |
| Platform height | 3.76 ft (1.15 m) |
| Doors | 8 |
| Maximum speed | 55 mph (89 km/h) |
| Weight | 92,720 lb (42,057 kilograms) |
| Traction system | AdTranz E-Cam Propulsion with Westinghouse 1447J motors 115 hp (85.8 kW) on all axles |
| Prime mover(s) | electric motor |
| Acceleration | 2.5 miles per hour per second (4.0 km/(h·s)) |
| Deceleration | 3.0 miles per hour per second (4.8 km/(h·s)) (Full Service) 3.2 miles per hour per second (5.1 km/(h·s)) (Emergency) |
| Electric system(s) | 600 V DC Third rail |
| Current collection method | Contact shoe |
| Braking system(s) | New York Air Braking (NYAB) GSX23 Newtran "SMEE" braking system, NYAB tread brake rigging model TBU190 |
| Safety system(s) | dead man's switch, tripcock |
| Coupling system | Westinghouse H2C |
| Headlight type | halogen light bulbs |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) |
The R68 is a B Division New York City Subway car order consisting of 425 cars built by the Westinghouse-Amrail Company, a joint venture of Westinghouse, ANF Industrie, Jeumont Schneider, and Alsthom. The cars were built in France from 1986 to 1988 and shipped through New York Harbor.
The R68 was the third R-type contract to be built with 75-foot (22.86 m) cars (the previous two being the R44 and R46), which have more room for sitting and standing passengers per car than the 60-foot (18.29 m) cars that were used previously and afterward. The cars, numbered 2500–2924, cost about $1 million each and they replaced many R10s dating from 1948, all remaining 6300-series R16s dating from 1954 to 1955, and some R27s and R30s dating from 1960 to 1962. The cars are built with stainless steel, and are graffiti-resistant.
On October 15, 1982, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced that it would purchase 225 cars from Westinghouse–Amrail. The first of the 225 cars were initially scheduled to arrive in January 1985, with the entire order complete in May 1986. The projected cost of the order was $210 million, or about $933,000 per car.
The R68's manufacturers suffered from significant system integration problems. Poor communication and coordination between the carbody builder (ANF Industrie) and the chassis assembler (Westinghouse) led to operational failures. Due to this, the R68s became known as a "lemon". During the beginning of service, the R68s had problems with malfunctioning doors, faulty wiring, electrical controls that suddenly lost power, and malfunctioning air brakes. In addition, the fleet had a high breakdown rate. Another problem occurred on November 11, 1986, when a train of R68s failed to climb the grade on the Manhattan Bridge. However, extensive work performed by the New York City Transit Authority provided solutions to the fleet's many problems.
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