Wabtec Corporation has secured a multi-million-dollar contract to supply brakes and couplers for 640 MTA New York City Transit (NYCT) train cars.

The brakes and couplers will be supplied via Wabtec‘s client Kawasaki Rail Car, Inc. Kawasaki chose them because of the safety and reliability achieved through Wabtec’s progressive and service-proven technology.

The equipment has already proven itself in service, and will therefore provide seamless interoperability with other subway fleets in the New York City Transit System’s fleet. By having a commonality of brake control components across its fleets, the transit authority benefits through advantages in maintainability and inventory.

This order is a follow-up to one of Wabtec’s largest North American transit projects when in 2018 it supplied equipment for 535 cars. This latest order has an initial option to supply brakes and couplers for 640 cars, with delivery scheduled for 2025 through to 2026. Wabtec has a second option to supply the equipment for an additional 437 cars. The R211 subway cars will be built at Kawasaki’s facilities in Lincoln, Nebraska and Yonkers, New York.

Wabtec has a long and proven track record of supplying equipment to New York City Transit, and also a longstanding commitment to Kawasaki. To further support Wabtec’s North American market, most of the order will be produced in the United States in Duncan, South Carolina. By manufacturing in the United States, Wabtec will maintain its already close client-supplier relationship, and provide a speedier response and a more supportive partnership.

“We are delighted that Kawasaki has once again chosen to draw on our strong and longstanding relationship for this exciting project,” said Wabtec Transit President Pascal Schweitzer. “We are proud to help boost reliability and improve subway service on the New York City Transit System, one of the largest and busiest in the world.”

The New York City Transit System is operated by New York City Transit, which is a public agency that operates public transport in New York City and is part of New York States’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The New York City subway has been in continuous stop service for over 100 years and is North America’s largest subway system with more than 400 stations. The New York subway fleet consists of nearly 6,500 cars and has more stops than any subway in the world.