NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has taken nearly 300 new subway cars off the rails because of faulty doors.
The R179 rail cars made by Bombardier Inc. were taken out of service Tuesday night after the manufacturer reported two incidents involving the doors.
The concern for the 298 rail cars is that the doors could open up at any random time, WCBS 880's Steve Burns reported.
The MTA says nobody has been hurt.
Now the finger pointing has begun. The MTA blames manufacturer Bombardier, while Bombardier blames its door subcontractor and some city officials, like Comptroller Scott Stringer, are blaming the MTA. He says it has a history of not properly managing its contracts.
Stringer said Bombardier "sold us lemons" and he calls the situation, "Yet another example of MTA mismanagement and incompetence."
The comptroller last month released the results of an audit that showed the $600 million Bombardier contract was flawed from the beginning.
"They missed deadlines for the cars, they failed to hold Bombardier accountable," Stringer told WCBS 880's Rich Lamb.
The audit found “layers of mismanagement with Bombardier and the MTA’s oversight of this contract.” According to the comptroller, the agency allowed Bombardier to get away with stringing the city along by failing to check in with the company despite the contract calling for annual inspections.
New York City Transit President Andy Byford calls the situation unacceptable and says he will hold Bombardier fully accountable.
Byford said all lines operated normally Wednesday morning except for the J and Z lines.
While the impacted cars are being inspected and repaired, trains dating back to the 1960's are coming out of retirement to fill the void.