The R142A is the second order of new technology cars (NTTs) for the A Division of the New York City Subway.

[8] These cars were built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries in Kobe, Hyōgo, Japan and Lincoln, Nebraska, U.S. with final assembly performed at Yonkers, New York.

The R142A fleet initially comprised 600 cars, arranged as five-car units.

After successful completion, the cars entered revenue service by November 2, 2000.

[11] The fleet initially ran on the 4 and 6 services of the IRT Lexington Avenue Line.

[22] The R142As and R142s are the first New York City Subway cars to feature recorded announcements.

[35] In January 2019, the MTA proposed mid-life upgrades to several train subsystems in the R142 and R142A fleets.

Upgrades also included the conversion of the remaining R142A fleet to be compatible with communications-based train control, in conjunction with subway signal upgrades along the IRT Lexington Avenue Line and IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line.

[36][33]: 24 Media related to R142A (New York City Subway car) at Wikimedia Commons