MTA Pulls $600M Subway Cars From Tracks Overnight

NEW YORK CITY — A fleet of faulty $600 million subway cars was pulled off the tracks Tuesday night "out of an abundance of caution" after two "incidents," according to the MTA.

The MTA removed 298 Bombardier R179 cars — the subject of a scathing audit from the City Comptroller's office — after manufactures reported a door mechanism was responsible for two recent events, the transit agency announced Wednesday morning.

"The MTA has identified repeated issues with Bombardier’s performance and finds this latest development unacceptable," said New York City Transit President Andy Byford. "We intend to hold the company fully accountable."

The MTA did not immediately disclose what incidents spurred the cars' removal — only that passengers had been safe when they occurred.

City Comptroller Scott Stringer said Wednesday "critical defects" and MTA's mismanagement in oversight of the contract were to blame.

“Bombardier sold us lemons," String said. "Straphangers need the MTA to manage these contracts from the beginning — before the trains go off the rails."

Byford said all lines — except the J and Z — operated during rush hour at normal service, which appears to have included a debris fire, police investigation and signal problems that brought delays to about a half dozen lines.

Stringer reported in December the MTA's 318 new Bombardier cars arrived three years late and cost the city $35 million in repairs and $300 million annually in lost labor during subway delays.

According to the audit, New York City had received only 298 cars by December 2019 and 20 were not in service because of problems with brakes, heating, ventilation and doors.

The 298 R179s represent about 4.5 percent of the MTA's 6716 cars, according to the MTA.