The R142 is the model class of the newest generation of IRT cars for the New York City Subway. Built by Bombardier in Plattsburgh, New York and Barre, Vermont from 1999–2002, the fleet, along with the R142A, are the new backbone of the IRT fleet.



The 1,030 R142 cars have Alstom ONIX AC propulsion, electronic braking, automatic climate control, and an on-board intercom system. The R142 and the R142A was partly designed by Antenna Design.[2][3]
The first R142s were delivered in November 1999. Regular service began in mid-2000 after several months of testing. The R142s and R142As replaced all of the Redbirds—the R26, R28, R29, R33, R33 WF, R36 and R36 WF IRT cars by late 2003.
There are two types of cars: "A" (cab at one end) and "B" (no cabs). "A" cars are powered with four traction motors each. "B" cars are powered by two traction motors at the number two end (car ends are numbered on the lower body just above the truck).[4][5][6] The trains are linked up in A-B-B-B-A sets (Bo'Bo'-Bo'2'-Bo'2'-Bo'2'-Bo'Bo), but also can be linked in sets of 4, 6, 9, or 11 cars.


The R142 and R142As were the first cars to feature recorded announcements. An announcement for a station and the next stop comes in the configuration of station name, subway line transfers, connections to other forms of transportation, and if the station has a bus connection to LaGuardia Airport or John F. Kennedy International Airport. After the doors open, the announcements tell the destination, train route, local or express service, and next stop. The door warning is then played and the doors close with the standard tones.
The recorded announcements are by:
Jessica Ettinger-Gottesman, 1010 WINS Anchor: Announcements on Lexington Avenue Line (4)(5)(6) trains
Melissa Kliner: original announcements on the 4 and 5 outside of Manhattan; these have since been re-recorded by Ettinger-Gottesman
Diane Thompson: announcements on the 2 train.
Charlie Pellett: "Stand clear of the closing doors, please" and various public announcements, such as safety announcements, announcements about a delay, and on the IRT trains, transfer announcements at most stations. The female announcers' voices are utilized for transfer announcements on the R143 and R160 cars.
Announcements are sometimes spliced together with one another when changes to service warrant.
These people were news anchors with Bloomberg Radio at the time the announcements were recorded. Since then, Ettinger-Gottesman and Pellett are now at 1010 WINS-AM and Sirius Satellite Radio working with Howard Stern and his Howard 100 news team.

The R142A's external speakers have a narrower rim around the edges than those on the R142, and would later apply to the R143 and the R160 models.
The interior speakers on the R142A are recessed into the curved portion of the ceiling with only lines of pinholes to denote their location while the R142's speakers are located in the midline of the cab on the ceiling and are not concealed.
The R142A's drives have a characteristic sound under acceleration and deceleration that is distinct from that of the R142 because of different AC traction motors. The R142's use Alstom AC traction motors, which are very similar to the ones used on the R160A cars and some of the R160B cars, while the R142A's use Bombardier AC traction motors which are identical to the ones used on the R143 cars.
B cars have traction motor at number one end.
The R142A's cab ends are one piece, while the destination sign area and window section are two separate pieces on the R142.
The LCD destination signs between the two doors of each side of cars as well as interior LED passenger information signs are different. The LCD destination signs and LED interior passenger information signs on the R142 turn-off when changing, while the ones on the R142A switch without turning off.
R142 cars have a dot-matrix LCD route number display and mosaic LCD destination on the side destination signs, while R-142A cars have a mosaic LCD for both the route and destination on the side destination signs.
The interior red door indicator lights on R142s are directly above the doors near its corners and point downwards towards the floor while the R142A's interior red door indicator lights are located just to the left and right of the doors and point towards the opposite wall.
The flashing orange closing door lights are slightly larger on the R142s.
The car end lexan glass windows open through a few tiny screws on R142s compared to the keyhole on the R142As.
The trucks on the cars are different. The R142 utilizes Bombardier trucks while the R142A utilizes Kawasaki trucks.
The two cars have different HVAC systems. The R142's HVAC is noticeably louder.
The R142A contain extra advertising panels within the car, which the R142 does not have.
The front windows on the R142s are a little more curvy while the R142As have square-like curves.
The windows on the front doors of the R142As are smaller than those on the front doors of the R142s.
The door handles on the car end doors leading from one car to another are different on the R142s and R142As.
The numbers on the R142As cars are in Akzidenz-Grotesk font while those on the R142 cars are in New York City's tradition