The R211 is a class of New Technology Train (NTT) subway cars built for the New York City Transit Authority.

The R211Ts employ open gangways between cars, allowing passengers to see and walk through the entire length of the train – a feature not present on the subway's other rolling stock.

The first photos of the R211 shows an incomplete trailing car in Kawasaki's Kobe factory, the image was likely taken around late 2018.

They contain new features such as wider doors, information displays, LED-lit doorways, open gangways, and LED interior lighting.

[c] In September 2024, the MTA indicated the possibility of retiring a handful of R68 and R68A cars with R211s,[12] and in December, it was confirmed that some R68s would be replaced by the second option order.

[3][14] Any cars from the option orders that do not replace existing rolling stock will be used to expand the system's fleet.

[31][32] The screens on the walls display advertisements, public service announcements, notices, and subway maps.

[26] It was announced in July 2016 that some of the cars would have open gangways,[1] which allows passengers to see and walk through the entire length of the train.

[1][20] All R211A and R211T cars are equipped for communications-based train control (CBTC)[14][23] in conjunction with the ongoing automation of B Division lines.

[17][39] An R211 solicitation was posted in the classified section of Metro Magazine's May 9, 2013, issue, stating the proposal to acquire these cars in the near future.

Open-gangways, which would allow passengers to seamlessly walk throughout the train or units, and other alternate configurations were also initially considered for the entire order.

[8] In May 2017,[41] the MTA quietly built a mockup of the R211 in a sparsely-used section of the 34th Street–Hudson Yards station's mezzanine, hidden behind a construction wall.

[1] In October 2019, the MTA Board ratified a contract with Thales Group for the installation of CBTC equipment in 92 five-car R211 sets.

[47] In March 2022, the MTA Board voted to add CBTC equipment to another 128 five-car units as part of the first option order.

[48]: 47  That October, the MTA Board voted to exercise the first option order for 640 cars, along with related non-car items,[21][52] at a cost of $1.7 billion.

[54] In October 2023, the MTA Board voted on adding CBTC equipment to another 89 R211 sets as part of the second option order.

[51]: 12  Under the schedule outlined in January 2019, the base order of R211 cars would begin delivery in October 2021[9]: 74  and continue to be delivered through mid-2023.

[58] The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic had impacted global supply chains and manufacturing,[59] so the delivery of the first cars was delayed by between 9 and 14 months.

[38]: 17  Kawasaki planned to deliver 22 cars per month, a rate that an independent engineering consultant for the MTA described as "aggressive".

[61]: 12  Some of the other issues with the test train, such as cracks in the HVAC frame, had been identified in previous months and fixed.

[61]: 19  The base order of R211As had to be underway by November 2023 so there would be enough cars to test a communications-based train control (CBTC) system being installed on the IND Eighth Avenue Line.

[63][64] In January 2024, issues with the Automatic Speed Control (Staten Island Railway's implementation of pulse code cab signaling) software was discovered on the R211S cars, delaying the start of the 30-day in-service test until August 2024, and the beginning of deliveries for production cars until later in 2024.

[65] Starting on June 29, 2021,[66] the first set of R211A cars (4060–4064) was delivered to the New York City Transit Authority at the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal.

[22][67] The next five cars (4065–4069) were delivered starting on July 12, 2021, forming a complete pilot ten-car train for acceptance testing and evaluation.

[69] On the first week of May 2023, the first set of R211S cars (100–104) was delivered to the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal, forming a complete pilot five-car train for acceptance testing and evaluation.

[71][72] After undergoing several tests on New York City Subway trackage, the unit was transported to Staten Island during the week of October 16, 2023.

[77][70] After successful completion, R211A cars officially entered revenue service on June 29, 2023, several months later than originally planned.

[81][82] This was further confirmed during another press conference in late June 2023, during which it was also announced that the R211S cars would enter service in January 2024.

[83][84] A video had circulated online showing an out of service train traveling at a very slow speed with flat wheels.

[84] The MTA later confirmed that the cars were out of service due to multiple issues, including leaking gearboxes which had caused the flat wheels on the aforementioned set.