MTA to replace yellow-and-orange seat subway trains in 2025.

NEW YORK (PIX11) – Say goodbye to the orange and yellow seats in the subways in 2025.

In the new year, the MTA plans to slowly retire the R46, R62/62A, and R68/R68A subway trains across the system. Commuters can expect to see them replaced with the new R211/R211S cars, according to the 2025-2029 capital plan.

The older cars are well-known for their orange and yellow seats and back-to-back double seaters that more recent train cars lack. The trains rolled into the systems in the 1980s and have continued to run on lines like the 1, 3, 6, B, D, F, N, and Q.

According to the MTA’s 2025-2029 capital plan, the agency plans to replace subway car models that are 40-years-old or older.

Those models reaching their limit include the R68/68A trains, of which more than 600 are still in use, and the R62/62A trains, of which more than 1,100 are still in use.

Older railcars are more prone to breakdowns and require more frequent and costly maintenance to keep in service, an MTA representative told PIX11 News. On average, they break down six times as often as newer model trains.

Newer railcars are also compatible with the modernized CBTC signaling, which allows the MTA to run trains more frequently and reliably.

Dominique Jack is a digital content producer from Brooklyn with more than five years of experience covering news. She joined PIX11 in 2024. More of her work can be found here.