There is a catastrophe occurring beneath our feet. In the past few weeks, the MTA has rolled out its new “R211” trains on the G line, a massive shift from the subway cars that inhabited these tunnels in the past. They feature wider doors, fewer seats, video advertisements and, most notably, open gangways (there are no longer doors between cars).
The MTA has apparently solved the Trolley Problem for New Yorkers: run over 5 people instead of 1 – sacrifice the mass over the individual. If there was danger on your train prior to 2025, you would simply snake between cars when it pulled into the station, evading whatever sketchiness or smell rubbed you the wrong way. Now, because the trains are essentially one massive car, if there is an alarming situation on a car, the entire train is subject to it. Not only is this bothersome for poorly smelling trains, but if – and when – there is a shooting on the train, up to 250 people will be at risk (on the G train – up to 400 on any other train), rather than the 40 people in a single car. Obviously, this is an extreme example, and Janno Lieber, CEO of the MTA, most likely isn’t thinking about the tradeoff of protecting the lives of 250 New Yorkers over 40. But maybe he should be. Because as safe as the subway is, there are fights, attacks and abuse, and being able to permanently separate yourself from someone who is making you feel uncomfortable is crucial.
The new model has 30 seats per ‘car,’ reduced from the 70 seats of the old trains. The yellow-and-orange-seater-cars (or “R46s”) were social trains that prioritized the quality of life of their passengers. There are few things in life as joyful as sitting with a loved one in a two-seater against the window as the G rattles over Gowanus, watching the sun set behind the New York City skyline.
It’s too bad that that experience will die as the R211 rolls in. The train’s design focuses on the simple goal of herding people to work. This is the primary goal of public transportation, of course, but for New Yorkers, who spend an average of 33.2 minutes commuting to work one-way (the highest commute time for anywhere in America, according to the US Department of Energy), the subway is more than just a shovel fueling the employers of the city with workers. It’s where we sit and chat with friends after a long day at school, where we bump into and catch up with old acquaintances, and where we strike up new friendships. Providing seats for the subway riders of New York is crucial to this experience. People don’t live in New York for quiet isolation, so don’t force it upon them. Let us face one another when we speak, and enjoy the over an hour that we spend in these tunnels every day. In a time where human interaction is at an all time low, R211 train cars serve to perpetuate the isolation of a generation that is losing contact in every part of their lives.
The R211 cars are cold and uninviting, with fluorescent lights and constantly flashing screens that reflect off the deep blue seats and bombard your eyes. Our world is dominated by short-form content, and the average attention span has decreased from two and a half minutes to about 47 seconds in the past 20 years, according to psychologist Gloria Mark, PhD. The switch from static subway ads to video ads is a symbol of the massive, negative cultural shift we are experiencing. There is now no escape from the world of TikTok – if you deign to look up from your phone, in desperate need of a break from blue light assailment, you will be met with a video advertisement promoting the newest drink at Starbucks, or young, spray-tanned women running around on a beach, donning Sephora’s newest lotion. The subway advertisement no longer rewards cleverness, quippyness or comedy.
Old subway print ads were funny, and, possibly more importantly, they were easy to ignore. The modern subway advertisement is neither. It rewards eyecatching, clickbait-y clips, that serve to keep the passenger’s eyes glued to the screen. Leaving the world of advertisement behind for a moment, the subway screen has even sunk to the low of playing “SoYummy” cooking shorts – quick videos of utterly useless culinary “hacks” and blasphemous recipes (“Brieghetti pie,” anyone?).
Allowing subway advertisements to have such a short turnaround simply contributes to trend cycles becoming quicker and quicker. We have seen overconsumption plague the world through social media, and having the latest shiny products rubbed in our faces every morning and afternoon will make excessive consumption even less avoidable. The subway isn’t supposed to be relevant – seeing a Christmas advertisement in June was just part of the New York charm.
The open gangways of the R211’s are meant to be more accessible and easier to navigate for those with disabilities when changing between cars. The new cars also feature six fold–down seats, which are meant to save room for those with wheelchairs. While I agree that making train cars more wheelchair accessible is a great initiative – there are better ways to improve this problem. At the moment, only 32 percent of (150 out of 472) subway stations are handicap accessible. Since the vast majority of stations were created before the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, most stations are not built to accommodate those with disabilities. Why make the trains more usable for citizens with wheelchairs when they aren’t able to enter stations in the first place? In terms of accessibility initiatives, a more productive use of MTA funding would be to install elevators, ramps and AutoGates at the 322 stations that are not usable for New Yorkers with disabilities.
The new open gangways are meant to reduce subway surfing and the risks of riding between cars. This seems to be the only truly positive initiative that these trains implement. subway surfing, however, is an intentional risk, and if riders want to do it, they will find a way regardless of the connection between cars. The open gangway could still reduce the number of accidental falls or fatalities due to simply transferring cars while the train is in motion, but we will have to wait and see the true difference in fatality rates that the R211’s provide.
My final gripe is simply the appearance: they are hideous. The R46’s have a retro charm to them, and while I wasn’t alive to see the 80’s (or 90’s, or most of the 2000’s), the trains still seem to capture a nostalgic feeling. They are living, working history, and exchanging them for modernity for the sake of modernity doesn’t help anyone. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
With that, I make my case for the rescue of the R46 trains. It is likely, however, that the R211 takeover is immutable. The new trains are a travesty, and I implore the MTA to return us to the days of orange and yellow seats, silver cars, and closed gangways, when one was free to look forward without having to intentionally avoid flashing screens, and the subway experience was enjoyable. The subway, the defining vehicle of New York, has become yet another object of late stage capitalism, where the platform that provides us the ability to go about our everyday life is wrapped in promotions, production and riddled with overconsumption.
