R68A is a class of New York City Subway

New York City Subway

The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the City of New York and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, a subsidiary agency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and also known as MTA New York City Transit...

 cars that were built in Kobe, Japan by Kawasaki Rail Car Company

Kawasaki Heavy Industries Rolling Stock Company

is the rolling stock production division of Kawasaki Heavy Industries. Since beginning operations in 1906, the company has produced more than 90,000 railroad vehicles.- Products :...

.

History and Description

There were 200 R68A cars built from 1988–89. They first entered into service in April 1988 on the train. They replaced the last R10

R10 (New York City Subway car)

The R10 is a New York City Subway car class built by the American Car and Foundry Company in 1948-1949. The cars were nicknamed Thunderbirds.-Service History:*First Date of Revenue Service: November 20, 1948, on the ' route....

s, R27

R27 (New York City Subway car)

The R27 was a New York City Subway car built by the St. Louis Car Company for the New York City Transit Authority in 1960–61. The R27s were a continuation of the R16 style....

s, and unrebuilt R30

R30 (New York City Subway car)

The R30 was a New York City Subway car built by St. Louis Car Company for the New York City Transit Authority in 1960–62. It was a continuation of the R16 and R27 style. They were a "follow-up" or supplemental stock for the "B" Division's R27s and closely resemble them.The cars were...

s all of which were retired between 1989-1991.

R68As are currently based out of the Coney Island Yard and assigned to the train. They are scheduled to remain in service until at least 2025 and the MTA is proposing mid-life technological upgrades for the fleet, including LED

LED display

An LED display is a flat panel display, which uses light-emitting diodes as a video display. An LED panel is a small display, or a component of a larger display. They are typically used outdoors in store signs and billboards, and in recent years have also become commonly used in destination signs...

destination signs and automated announcements.

Differences Between an R68 and R68A

• The door to the operator's cab slides open on an R68A as opposed to swinging open on an R68.
• The R68 and R68A fleets have different window frames.
• Unlike the R68s, the R68As do not feature rims around the red door indicator lights.
• The "MTA New York City Subway" logos are arranged differently between the two car types.
• The side ribbing runs all the way to the car ends and side doors on an R68, but taper off on approach on an R68A.
• Only the R68s have a metal bar separating the side sign from window, while the R68A has one solid pane of glass.
• The R68s have unit numbers in the 2000-series while the R68As have numbers in the 5000-series.

External links

• nycsubway.org - R68A page information
• NYC Subway Car Datasheet
• Train Set Assignments