R188 Subway Cars

The R188s are an "A" division car that will be used on the (7) line on the IRT Flushing Line that will displace all the R62As. It will also consist of CBTC (Communications Based Train Controls) for the whole Flushing Line. The order was originally supposed to be consisting 186 new cars and 131 R142A converted compatible with CBTC and an additional 189 R142A conversion kits making a possible total of 46 eleven-car trains. The contract was awarded in Spring of 2010 to Kawasaki Heavy Industries. The MTA decided to let Kawasaki do all the conversions at the plant in Yonkers instead of 207th Street Yard. As of right now, two sets of R188s (7811-7821 and 7822-7832) and one converted R142A set (7211-7220) are testing on the IRT Dyre Avenue Line on the middle track.