The Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Friday opened a new railcar testing facility in Sunset Park.
The complex will serve as the first stop for all new subway cars before they are put into service, officials said. It will help the MTA process new subway cars, work locomotives and other rolling stock more efficiently, helping complete onsite testing so they can enter service more quickly.
This comes as the MTA prepares to receive the biggest infusion of new rail cars in decades.
Located near the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal, the facility can accept rolling stock delivered by truck, rail or boat. Individual cars can then be linked together for testing and commissioning on the facility’s in-house tracks. The newly created trains will then be sent via the facility’s direct connection to the subway network to complete further testing and will be entered into revenue service once they pass final inspection.
"Our historic $11 billion investment in rolling stock calls for a top-of-the-line new testing facility," MTA Chair and Chief Executive Officer Janno Lieber said in a statement. "Now we’re ready to start processing the 1,500-plus rail cars included in the Capital Plan, no matter how they’re delivered — by land or by water.”    
The opening of the facility comes as the MTA is actively buying hundreds of modern R211 and R268 subway cars that will eventually replace all R46 and R68 subway cars, which have been in service for decades. New R211 cars are being delivered at a rapid pace, with 750 already delivered and another 860 still to arrive. The transit agency will also purchase 378 R268 subway cars, which feature similar amenities, officials said.
These modern cars also assist the MTA in its efforts to upgrade subway lines to Communications-based Train Control (CBTC), the international gold standard of signal systems. All R211s and R268s come equipped with technology that seamlessly integrates with CBTC signals, leading to a better overall commute for millions of daily riders — including more reliable service, fewer delays, more frequent trains and less waiting.      
This is the first brand-new, full-scale subway car facility located on a new property that the transit authority has added since the Pitkin Yard opened in Brooklyn in 1948.
 

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