Governor Andrew M. Cuomo yesterday announced that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has issued a Request for Proposals to manufacture 1,025 new and redesigned subway cars that must include a plan that includes the number of U.S. jobs that it will create and retain.
The RFP follows Cuomo’s unveiling designs for new subway cars which include innovative enhancements to the exteriors and interiors, wider doors, and the addition of up to 750 “Open Car End” designed-cars. The new designs will reduce wait times and increase capacity and is part of a $27 billion, five-year MTA Capital Program secured to renew and expand the MTA network.
“The MTA is the one of the busiest transportation networks in the country and we’re taking the next step toward rebuilding and modernizing New York’s subway system,” Cuomo said. “This action will increase capacity, reduce overcrowding, and enhance the customer experience while creating jobs and building for the future.”
Of the 1,025 new cars, the MTA estimates up to 750 will feature an Open Car End design, which replaces the door between cars with an accordion-like connector in order to create longer, open spaces, allowing for greater passenger flow movement and increasing capacity in the process.
The new cars will also have wider doors that is projected to reduce delays by allowing customers to enter and exit more quickly, and have become an international standard. According to a computer simulation of passenger flow conducted on behalf of the MTA, in crowded scenarios wider doors can reduce a train’s ‘dwell time’ in the station by 32 percent.
The new cars will also feature a host of new amenities, including WiFi, USB chargers, full color digital customer information displays, digital advertisements, illuminated door opening alerts and security cameras to promote passenger safety.·
The exterior features include a new blue front with large windows, LED headlights, and a blue stripe with gold accents along the sides.
As part of the RFP process, proposers will be required to submit a U.S. Employment Plan outlining the number and description of U.S. jobs that would be created and/or retained in connection with the production, delivery, acceptance, testing, and warranty coverage requirements of the contract.
Additionally, the proposer must describe the direct dollar value and the fringe benefit costs for those jobs, and the commitment the proposer will make to achieve that level of job creation/retention.
Transit Workers Union Local 100 President John Samuelsen hailed the announcement saying, “Taxpayer dollars that are used to buy equipment like subway cars should create good quality manufacturing jobs here, not overseas. Other agencies will likely follow the MTA’s lead. It is the largest transit agency in the country and often sets the standard for others.”
Madeline Janis, Executive Director of Jobs to Move America said, “By adopting the U.S. Employment Plan, the MTA has included a jobs disclosure and evaluation tool for the purchase of these trains that will improve New York’s transit system, create good jobs and revive manufacturing in our communities that need it the most. We commend Governor Cuomo on his leadership and commitment to maximizing taxpayer dollars and improving the economic outcomes of our communities.”
