The MTA has pulled all 318 R179 subway cars from its fleet after reports of two cars suddenly uncoupling at the Chambers Street A train station on Wednesday morning.
There were no injuries among the ten passengers on the train, the MTA’s interim President of NYC Transit Sarah Feinberg said in a statement Wednesday.
A northbound A train entering the station became separated between the sixth and seventh cars around 1 a.m.
“At this time, we believe this to be an isolated incident, however, I am launching a full investigation, and out of an abundance of caution, the entire R179 fleet is being pulled from service until further notice. We have redeployed additional spare cars and minimal impacts to service are anticipated,” Feinberg said in the statement.
The MTA has previously pulled 298 of their stock of the issue-plagued R179 cars made by Canada-based Bombardier as recently as six months ago. In December and January, two reports of subway doors coming loose from locking mechanisms and sliding open triggered the removal of the R179 cars from the system for inspection. They were returned at the end of January after examinations by a third-party firm, Bombardier and the MTA.
Last year, city Comptroller Scott Stringer released an audit of Bombardier, which supplies the city with most of its subway cars, and its $600 million contract that included the 298 trains then-under review. The comptroller’s audit found that “Bombardier consistently failed to produce acceptable work, meet project milestones and correct critical structural defects in a timely manner – resulting in a three-year delay” as well as failures of oversight by the MTA.
The new issue with the R179 cars, which serve the A, C, J and Z lines, also arises on the cusp of New York City’s anticipated Phase 1 of reopening on June 8th.
Subways will run on a more frequent schedule by Monday, when manufacturing, construction and some retail businesses are expected to reopen under the first phase of the state's plan. The subway system will continue to shut down between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. to allow for a nightly cleaning of the trains.
“This marks the latest unacceptable issue with one of Bombardier’s R179 cars,” Feinberg said in her statement. “Customer and employee safety is New York City Transit’s North Star. We will not compromise one inch on safety. We will not return the fleet to service without certainty and validation that all cars are fit for passenger service – period.”
Bombardier told Gothamist/WNYC they’re investigating Wednesday’s incident.
