These trains have problems — from A to Z!
The pricey new trains the MTA pulled from service because of busted doors suffer from a bevy of other problems that make them a horror to operate, according to train crew complaints obtained by The Post.
Operators and conductors have grown so frustrated with the R179 fleet’s slippery controls, stiff windows and design flaws that they’ve signed a petition demanding the MTA make fixes.
“It’s like the train was designed for a robot — or someone six and a half feet tall,” said one conductor who signed the petition.
Workers are particularly irate about design flaws that force them to stand on a tiny 2.5-inch edge to get a glimpse of station platforms. They also report that the window latches jut out into their chests and necks as they lean out to ensure the train doors close safely.
More than 150 employees who drive and conduct the trains signed the letter, which was sent MTA management on Thursday.
“The R179 train operating cabs does not accommodate the various shape, size, height and weight of all operating employees,” the petitioners wrote.
The grievances in the petition are echoed in a string of internal complaints already filed by employees with the state-run authority’s management, which were obtained by The Post.
In one July 25 incident, a conductor complained of pain in both her knees because “standing on the foot support caused pressure to her knees.”
MTA inspectors later concluded that R179 trains have an “engineering defect with the foot step in operating cabs.”
In another incident, on Oct. 24, a train operator reported “sharp pains” and “swelling” in the hand he uses to operate the master controls.
“And everything that’s wrong with these trains, we reported for years,” the conductor said. “But the inspectors, they don’t work on them day-in and day-out like we do.”
The MTA removed all 298 of the R179 trains — which cost a combined $635 million — from service this week “out of an abundance of caution,” after the doors on one train car partially opened between stations.
That forced officials to implement emergency service cuts and recommission old trains that were bound for the scrap yard in a desperate bid to fill gap on the A, C, J and Z lines.
Last month city Comptroller Scott Stringer accused transit officials of “shoddy oversight” of train-builder Bombardier, whose trains he lampooned as “lemons.”
“People get surprised when I say it, but it’s the new equipment that’s hurting us,” said one train operator. “I’ve heard from a lot of [operator’s] who’ve said, ‘Oh, yeah, that train hurts my wrist.”
The MTA said late Friday that it is “currently working through a number of field modifications to ergonomics that have been designed in collaboration with employees who have shared feedback.”
It denied any knowledge of an engineering defect, despite the findings of the internal report the Post obtained.
Bombardier spokeswoman Maryanne Roberts said via email that the company is dedicated to getting the R179s back in service and plans to make two small design changes to cab window latches at the request of the MTA.
She did not not provide information as to how much the alterations would cost; who would pay for the changes or when the fixes would be completed.