A new European-style train hit the Big Apple's subway system Thursday — but some workers were ready to close the door on an “open lane” design for test cars.
Early passengers were enamored by the bright lights and digital screens of the C-line's shiny cars, but were divided over the cutting-edge accordion design as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority unveiled the biggest change to the transit system in a generation.
Keisha Rodriguez, the stripper, said Thursday of the setup, which was set up with The first and last five train cars are connected to each other like accordion coaches.
Rodriguez was one of about half the passengers on the new trains who told The Post that the design made them feel safer — they could see the entire train and switch cars quickly if there was a problem.
But the other half said it made them feel more vulnerable. They said the metal doors served as a barrier preventing the homeless and mentally ill from accessing the vehicle they were traveling in.
This will not be the case now.
“What actually concerns me is the homeless,” Justin Shaver, 19, told The Washington Post. “When they're in one car, it's limited to that one car. And since this is an open train, you can't really do that.”
Most were very impressed with the digital bells and whistles adorning the cars, including brighter lights, updated displays and wider doors that make boarding easier for people with disabilities and strollers. The doors are wrapped in new light strips that flash red as they close.
The train that entered service Thursday is one of two the MTA purchased in 2018 to test the “open lane” concept in New York.
The pair were delivered in 2023 and underwent months of testing via underground message lines before being officially commissioned.
Officials have inserted the experimental model into a much larger $3 billion train order, which will finally allow them to replace the orange-and-brown models dating back to the 1970s — among the system's most unreliable.
The remaining trains in the arrangement feature the more traditional closed doors at the end of each car.
Compared to those models, the new R211T looks like a spaceship.
“I'm used to the dirty subway,” Ian Myers, a regular commuter, told The Post.
New train? “It's much better,” he said.
Officials have pushed for the trial for years, saying the design — commonly found in London and Paris — would give passengers space to spread out, make it easier for New Yorkers with special needs and those with strollers to find a seat and improve passenger safety with better sightlines and new surveillance cameras. .
Closed lanes also have other benefits, such as preventing people from jumping in without conductors noticing, which could lead to a decline in the subway surfing epidemic that has already claimed the life of a teenager this year.
On Thursday, Gov. Kathy Hochul called the trains “the future of mobile transportation.”
“The subway is coming back,” she told reporters as she stood in the accordion that connects two cars together, before the inaugural ride departed from the 168th Street station in Washington Heights.
“We want to make sure the good feelings and good times continue,” she continued. “And that's what we're doing by launching these new cars on the C train.”
“The bottom line is that the subway keeps the city moving. “I can’t imagine this city without it, it wouldn’t be as vibrant,” she added. “It won’t be that fast. It won't be New York City. “The economy of our entire region depends on it.”
The agency also added 800 new train and station cleaners to its payroll, meaning the shiny cars will stay that way.
But for now, passengers enjoyed the ride.
“I like it to be open,” Lahana Dearing told The Post. “It's cold. I feel like I'm on a train.”