The MTA is about one week away from bringing a little European flair to our subway system.

It is about to debut the new open gangway subway cars – an open concept that’s currently used in London and Paris. This is their American debut.  

The open gangway design is a variant of the new R211 fleet of trains the MTA recently rolled out. They say they’re part of a 1.44 billion order that they placed in 2018 for 535 new subway cars to serve the A and C lines.  It’s an accordion-style design – there are no doors so passengers can move freely along the entire length of the train. 

The MTA said today they won’t be running along some express stretches in Manhattan and Brooklyn when they first debut. 

Danny Pearlstein, from Riders Alliance, says they’re 600 feet long and will provide New Yorkers with a roomier ride.    “What’s exciting about the open gangways cars is that a full train of them can accommodate 10-15% more riders comfortably than cars that are closed at the ends and where there’s a space between cars so opening the gangways provides additional capacity, let’s riders spread out a little more,” Pearlstein told News 12 New York.    The MTA has ordered two open gangway subway trains.  Officals say they want to test them out before ordering more.