Cuomo unveils MTA subway auto design, announces station renovation plan

In line with other major subway systems around the world, London’s tube network among them, most of the new cars will also incorporate “open vehicle end” designs that allow riders to move more easily through the train, a feature that should help ease overcrowding. Similar in design to a long hallway, each train auto will accommodate 10% more passengers than existing ones.

Each train will also have Wi-Fi access and USB charging ports, despite recent problems with charging stations on the State Island Ferry.

MTA’s in-house design team has developed the outline specification for the updated Subway cars with a view to importing best practice from other cities around the world; MTA cites Toronto, London and Paris as influencing the decision to adopt the walk-through interior.

With almost six million riders hitting the New York City subway daily, that’s a whole lot of people who’d be really pleased if the authorities upped its game and gave the system a serious makeover.

Exterior Features: Design elements for the exterior of the new subway cars include a new blue front with large windows, LED headlights, and a blue stripe with gold accents along the sides.

The first of the three stations to undergo the overhaul will be Brooklyn’s Prospect Avenue D/N/R stop, 53rd Street R stop, and Bay Ridge Avenue R stop. The design will include glass or mesh barriers instead of iron bars in some stations. They will also include digital ads and security cameras.

Like the train cars, those stations will be getting amenities like WiFi, improved cellular connections and new digital signage with real-time updates at entrances and count down clocks on the platform – all while being careful to consider each station’s “architectural legacy”.

While the redesign will modernize the stations, the historic features of each will be preserved, MTA President Ronnie Hakim said. Proposals for more stations will be released over the next 12 months and the first station renovation contract is expected to be awarded this fall. Officials said it will cut out about a third of boarding time.

Cuomo said the agency’s priority will be finishing the job quickly, which means complete station closures for up to six months.

“This is not a patch job. This is a rebuilding and reconstruction”.