See The Spacious New Subway Cars Coming To The E Line

CHELSEA, NY — Redesigned subway cars with fewer seats are coming to the E line this week, one of the first steps in a massive overhaul come to New York City's beleaguered public transit system.

Joe Lhota, chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, announced on Tuesday that 100 of the new cars would be rolled out to the E line as part of a pilot program. MTA officials will be monitoring the new cars to see how they affect overcrowding and decide whether to implement the changes on other lines.

"This pilot goes directly to the heart of that goal by attacking a significant cause of failures on these cars and making a fast, targeted improvement," Lhota said in a statement. "We also know that getting more passengers onto trains, in a more efficient manner, is absolutely essential – which is why we’re piloting the removal of select number of seats."

To make more space for standing commuters, these cars have fewer seats at the ends of the car. In addition to making more standing-room space, the MTA hopes that this change will allow passengers to board and leave trains more quickly.

Also included in this 100-car pilot are some less visible changes that could have a big impact on subway delays. The cars in the pilot will have a brand new master controllers, which allow the train to break and accelerate, the MTA said in a statement.

Other pilot programs are coming to the Times Square shuttle and the C line. (For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

Image credit: Metropolitan Transportation Authority