being in this stock while the market is down is worst.... MTA Pulls New Subway Cars From Service in New York City
Wednesday, June 3, 2020, 4:10 PM ET
By Paul Berger
Transit officials pulled their newest subway cars from service in New York City and launched an investigation Wednesday after two cars became separated upon entering a Manhattan station in the early hours of the morning.
The subway cars are part of an order from Canadian company Bombardier Inc. that have suffered a slew of mechanical issues, including earlier this year when a door remained open while a train was moving.
"This marks the latest unacceptable issue with one of Bombardier's R179 cars," said Sarah Feinberg, the interim head of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's subway and bus systems.
Ms. Feinberg said the fleet of 318 cars won't resume service until they have been inspected. A spokeswoman for Bombardier didn't immediately provide comment.
MTA officials say the sixth and seventh cars on a 10-car A train separated as it entered Chambers Street station just after 1 a.m. They said 10 passengers were evacuated and no one was hurt.
The MTA has a fleet of about 6,500 train cars. The newest cars are usually deployed on the A/C and J/Z lines. MTA officials say they have temporarily swapped out the newest cars with older models while an investigation is conducted.
Transit officials have berated Bombardier several times over the past few years because of delays and defects.
The last subway car of the $600 million order was delivered to the MTA in December, three years behind schedule. The cars have suffered a range of issues, including welding defects and faulty heating and ventilation systems, according to a report published in December by New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer.
Mr. Stringer in the report said the delays to the car order had cost the state-controlled transit authority $35 million in maintenance costs to keep old cars -- some with designs dating to the 1960s -- in service.
At the time, Bombardier said it disagreed with some aspects of the report. MTA officials defended their oversight of the order, pointing out that they secured 18 additional cars at no charge as a penalty for the late delivery.
The MTA pulled its entire fleet of the new cars in early January after transit officials discovered that doors failed to function properly twice, including one instance in which a door panel didn't close properly between stations. At the time, Bombardier blamed a Chinese manufacturer that provided the door parts. The cars were returned to service later that month.
MTA board members last year scolded Bombardier officials over delays in installing a train safety system on the authority's two commuter railroads. A Bombardier executive at the time said the project had proven more complicated than the contractors anticipated.
Write to Paul Berger at Paul.Berger@wsj.com