Staten Island Railway: New Kawasaki R211S Cars 100-104 Begin Testing (1/13/24)

Here we see the R211S doing some high speed tests along the Main Line on the SIRR. Enjoy!

[@edwardp3502]

Awesome for Staten Island! Although you Richmond County peeps realize these are the last new rail cars you’ll see until about 2075. Seriously.

[@FanRailer]

Bold of you to assume these new tech trains will last that long.

[@oforid2227]

​@@FanRailerseeing how bad building quality has gotten over the past few years i agree 😂

[@edwardp3502]

@FanRailer: Oh, the MTA will make certain to run them for 50 years even if they have to duct tape them like they do the R44s. Ain’t no way Staten Island gets any new trains more than twice in 100 years 😂

[@nyctransitrailfan]

@@FanRailerThe R32’s lasted for 50 or so years

[@nyctransitrailfan]

@@edwardp3502just like how they did with the R42’s and R32’s

[@edwardp3502]

When these go into service, I can officially say I’ve ridden all 3 models of electric cars the SIR has used in the past 100 years. Rode the original 1925 B&O cars in the early ‘70s, the R44s since ‘73, and now these babies.

[@TheTransitProductions]

That's cool, glad to hear your able to experience all 3!

[@richshort8120]

I lived on Staten Island from 1959 to 1973 and I ridden on the old B&O & R44 train cars too. What I remember was the wicker seats were uncomfortable back them

[@RRaquello]

Me too.

[@TrainMaster5097]

2:06-Awesome seeing the R44 and the R211S side by side!

[@camera9024]

No. R211 is about to eat him.

[@Iconic_maya9]

Well damn it can hit high speeds

[@BrianGomez8888]

The island actually got an upgrade

[@camera9024]

FOR ONCE!

[@localnyraccoon]

Nice. Glad to see this island finally get some new trains. Gonna miss the R44s but it’s a good upgrade.

[@edwardp3502]

Those R44s served SI well. Hard to believe they replaced the original B&O cars from 1925.

[@anonymous3738]

The R211S has no open gangways. Rather than using selective door operation, Richmond Valley needs both platforms extended and Clifton needs its northbound platform adjusted further north. That way, passengers don’t have to pay attention to which cars they enter to get off at these stations.

[@edwardp3502]

Too few riders at Richmond Valley to justify the expense. Riders there are used to moving forward and nobody (and I mean NOBODY) goes to Richmond Valley unless they live nearby and know the SIR’s quirks.

[@anonymous3738]

@@edwardp3502 Well, it is the only station with short platforms so I don’t think it will hurt to extend them once and for all. As for Clifton, I recently heard that the R211 doesn’t have an issue with the gap at the rear end of the northbound platform since the cars are 60ft long compared to the current R44 whose cars are 75ft long.

[@BeeBee-pl9ly]

​@@anonymous3738 that's great news

[@SamsungGalaxyS5OTH]

I do lol

[@libertytree1775]

It's about time! We, as Staten Islanders, are a neglected borough. We need to fight for the next generation of Staten Islanders.

[@TSgotstolengoddamm]

damn those r211s's can run i wonder if they were tuned for higher speeds

[@TheRailcarbusguy]

They are capable of reaching 60 mph. I think their design top speed is 66 mph

[@silverskyscraper1179]

So they finally left NYC Transit’s Coney Island Yard.

[@trainsofworld]

these look sweet! Nice design!

[@joestrainworldvideos3977]

I Subscribed. Fantastic train video. Good work. Greetings Joe 😊

[@railfannerjs6308]

1:04 looking like Locust Manor, hauling!

[@josephmitchell5302]

I thought when you pass a station is supposed to blow the horn

[@LDTV22OfficialChannel]

I'm gonna miss the R44s

[@MillerMeteor74]

It sounds like it's got some flat wheels already, due to the bad gear boxes like the other test trains.

[@ryandixon6428]

It's probably got flats due too the leaves on the tracks build up of oil on the tracks and wheels 😮

[@Silxvr]

It’s probably just the Track sounds. The R211S has been kept in good maintenance and if a flat wheel was the case, it would have been noticed already

[@christherailfan5851]

@@Silxvr Oh it's not the track, it's the wheels for sure, you can tell by the rhythm of the wheels, I ride the SIR all the time and the r44's don't even have that many flat spots lol.

[@blackking7512]

​@Agentsilxvr it has flat spots on the wheels, bro. Tracks don't make noise. It's been testing on other lines way before it got to staten island so thats the reason, but im sure they will get that fixed eventually.

[@alexthemtaandr211weatherfa2]

The flat wheels problem form the r211as

[@FinnBugFinn]

bro went to diet new jersey to see the r211s

[@Silxvr]

💀💀💀

[@emjay5577]

Nice to finally see new equip,emt ont he SIRT. I am old enough to have ridden the old B&O standard cars as a kid. I wonder if these new cars will be given the double air horns like the current fleet has?

[@CurvyTribune]

About Damn Time 😅😅😅😅

[@eduardososa843]

They’re now expected to enter service in the 3rd quarter of 2024. These trains should have entered service by now.

[@Ronnie-ok2bc]

Wow. Really???

[@eduardososa843]

They were suppose to enter service back in March but it was delayed for what ever reason. Now from the looks of it, most likely it will enter service either in the Summer or Fall.

[@Ronnie-ok2bc]

@@eduardososa843 hopefully in the Summer. But I heard they had issues due to software malfunction.

[@ronniecutro2539]

February will be more Testing, March will be 30 Day Revenue Service Testing.

[@igorgaysinsky6680]

When do you think they will go into the 30 day in-service revenue test for passenger service. I’m going to take a guess and say between March-May 2024.

[@black_bandit1084]

They said March

[@alexthemtaandr211weatherfa2]

It's sometime in may

[@urbsinhorto]

Are brand new cars supposed to have flat spots already? What is that noise?

[@edwardp3502]

Bad tracks. The MTA doesn’t do a great job maintaining tracks and stations, particularly on Staten Island.

[@benmossad2073]

You already have square wheel (flat spots) on your damn Hooterville Trolley !!!!!

[@edwardp3502]

It’s the tracks, not the wheels. These same cars were nice and smooth during tests in Brooklyn.

[@benmossad2073]

@@edwardp3502 Flat spots are on the wheels, almost always. On the tracks you have brake ripples and such. The Damn Hooterville Trolley (Staten Island Railway) is known for its flat spots - aka square wheels……

[@camera9024]

Finally

[@javierbarrucz7755]

NICE TO SEE THE KAWASAKI R211S CARS BEING TESTED ALONG THE MAIN LINE IN STATEN ISLAND👀👀👀🚇🚇🚇

[@edwardp3502]

MTA could do better with the route bullets. Pretty lame throwing an “SI” in there. Anyone riding KNOWS it’s the Staten Island Railway they’re on. They need to know WHERE it’s going. How about SG for St. George, GK for Great Kills, HG for Huguenot, and TT or TV for Tottenville? Put those letters in a circle or diamond to denote local or express and boom, riders instantly know what train they’re on!

[@TrainMaster5097]

At the top where the sign reads “NOT IN SERVICE”, is where “St. George”, “Tottenville”, “Great Kills”, etc. will be displayed.

[@edwardp3502]

@trainmaster: So then the bullets are pretty useless. They could just put TOTTENVILLE EXPRESS or ST GEORGE LOCAL in the destination sign and leave it at that. Additional route markers make much more sense from a visual perspective.

[@TrainMaster5097]

@edwardp3502 Don’t split hairs over that. Let’s at least celebrate that Staten Island is finally receiving something new in over 50 years. Also, the sides of the train have destination signs to tell riders where the train is headed.

[@SamsungGalaxyS5OTH]

@@edwardp3502 bruh

[@SamsungGalaxyS5OTH]

@@TrainMaster5097 yeah i agree

[@portcybertryx222]

Aww no open gangways 😢

[@Stargazing1108]

I'll ask are they going to change the seating to the way it was on the old trains? Obviously the whole ride thru Staten Island are outdoors. So those old.seatimg configuration was nice where you can sit ( of the seat was available) and look outside the window and enjoy the view. Are there new trains going to keep the usual NYC subway seating format??

[@JamaicaZ160R1793010A]

So it began. How frequently will it test?

[@TheTransitProductions]

usually overnights on some weekdays, not sure what the occasion was to test during the day but it was cool to see

[@JamaicaZ160R1793010A]

@@TheTransitProductions Overnights? So they're not doing a 30 day test to put them in service since its a railroad.

[@TransitRoss]

No, I believe 30 day testing would have them involved with Inaugural service (AKA Passenger Service) and they must go through testing for 30 days without failure. They are just doing regular testing on the tracks 😊. Though, it is a railway, so maybe it’s different.

[@JamaicaZ160R1793010A]

@@TransitRoss The M9s had to run a certain amount of miles before they were serviceable and I'm thinking it might be the same here but we'll have to see.

[@ExpressRailfan]

​@@TheTransitProductionsAnd what takes will the new cars do after testing?

[@sanitman1488]

The new trains to no where ……….

[@Benasorus]

RIP WABCO AA2 horn :(

[@dolphingamingroblox]

R44 door chime sounds better tbh

[@ryandixon6428]

5 car unit interesting

[@Stanf954]

5 unit R211 equals a 4 car R46 consist in length to berth in the stations.

[@localnyraccoon]

Each car is shorter than the R44s so a 5 car set of an R211 will be the same length as a 4 car set of an R44.

[@Railoffroader2]

5 X 60’ (R211) 4 X 75’ (R44)

[@amiranore1707]

Are their any slight differences between these and the new ones used in the subways

[@TrainMaster5097]

These have cab-signaling equipment whereas the ones in the subway have CBTC software installed. Other than that and maybe some minor details, they’re much the same.

[@mrmta9796]

2:05 old vs new and why does the r44 have the mta logo covering the roll sign? I hope they enter service real soon.

[@edrickang2338]

The original rollsign got stolen

[@edwardp3502]

The MTA more or less stopped maintaining the R44s years ago. God forbid they spent a few thousand dollars on new roll signs. Deferred maintenance and neglect on SI trains and buses is an old MTA practice.

[@chicago-l9125]

@@edwardp3502 Looks like some of those "old practices" are starting to manifest themselves on the "A" and "B" Divisions given the number of recent mishaps, especially with that el train derailment on the F line.

[@Radzvr]

Oh it got its American flag

[@joelweisstuch4572]

Something wrong with that? Long live ‘Murica! 🇺🇸🇺🇸✊🏻✊🏻

[@rohilkoovappara4927]

Hey nothing wrong with the flag sir. With American flag on you know what that means: the new born baby Subway car will go into service soon. Yeah!!!!!!!

[@Maunico0809]

@@joelweisstuch4572with the R211s, they are delivered without the American Flags, and are put on right before sets enter service. User might be pointing this out as this set might enter service soon since it has the flags now.

[@mtattrain2]

America fuck yeah (meme-ing)

[@localnyraccoon]

WHAT THE FUCK IS A KILOMETER 🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🔥🔥🔥🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅

[@Vlance213]

When will they go into service? jw

[@TheTransitProductions]

Should be very soon

[@MrSIR-s7w]

March 2024

[@Gojira160]

​@@TheTransitProductionsWill they get started on local service and then work their way up to express services?

[@jess.hawkins]

Cool, some wrong rail running at speed, that's kinda freaky. Also, isn't it interesting that the Staten Island Railway uses the term "railway" rather than the more typical American "railroad"‽ 😅

[@gtavstepfordcounty1733]

I mean, it used to be a railway in its hey day, but these days, it's more of a metro than a railway

[@edwardp3502]

Some dolt in MTA marketing came up with the “railway” designation, which is very British. It was the Staten Island Rapid Transit (SIRT) until the mid-1990s.

[@jess.hawkins]

@@edwardp3502 I mean I am British so I approve ☺️ but yes this isn't generally correct for typical American dialect at all!

[@JayseGreene]

Please get a new camera. The zoom on this one blows.

[@gerrylee1687]

The R68 should’ve moved to Staten Island

[@edwardp3502]

Why?

[@gerrylee1687]

@@edwardp3502SIR service is horrible

[@Plis67]

Bro sir and mta are different

[@YuDoThat101]

Give them a old steam train they don't need nyc trains man...

[@sams4760]

aw

[@TCORV]

Well too bad. Staten Island is a New York City borough. Therefore they will get New York city trains.

[@YuDoThat101]

@@TCORV the forgotten borough, it's like going to new jersey it has no nyc feel but you're right im sorry for hating congratulations Staten island 👐

[@cryorig_transit05]

Mf that's a downgrade

[@sams4760]

@@YuDoThat101 i mean tbf the south shore feels more like Jersey. The North Shore feels more like nyc