Gothamist teased us with the promise of brand-new N trains back in August, but I guess the "one-month trial" took a bit longer than the MTA (or nycsubway.org, for that matter) expected.
Today was my first time even seeing a shiny new R160—not to mention actually riding in it. I must have gasped audibly in surprise when it came into the station, but all of my fellow passengers looked so blasé that I was too embarrassed to whip out my real camera and had to settle for this very low-quality camera phone pic (not that pictures I take with other people's nice new cameras turn out any better, but hey).
The fresh-off-the rack N trains are a lot like the current 4/5/6 and 2/3 trains, but with a much flashier LED display that customizes itself according to the actual route of the train instead of being pre-set to the "standard" route and contains a weird video inset which claimed (I think?) that the R160s somehow offer a "smoother ride" than the old trains. They also have this eerily soothing female voice announcing the stops instead of the automaton man who barks at me every morning the 6.
I just hope an R160 takes me in the other direction tomorrow morning. When my N pulled into 59th Street/Lexington, the old-school train headed downtown across the platform looked very sad and dingy indeed.
Yes the new trains are indeed bright and shiny. But when I recall the time that the voice over the older trains' loudspeaker once barked "If y'all don't stand clear of the damn doors, I'mma stop dis train and kick all y'all out!" I realize that progress has its own price to pay.