What happens to retired train cars?

Several years ago, outdated NYC subway cars were placed in the Atlantic Ocean to create artificial reefs to protect the shoreline from flooding and provide habitat for sea life. But the stainless steel trains collapsed in the salt water, so scrapping the metal is now the preferred way to dispose of old subway cars.



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Can train maintenance be sustainable? The trains have a lifespan of about 30 years, and mechanics maintain them until the end of their lifespan to ensure safety. The most used maintenance method today is preventive maintenance. Preventive maintenance is a method of replacing parts at regular intervals.

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At the recycle facility, a huge machine crushes the car and breaks it into chunks. Workers put the big chunks through a series of steps that sort out the different types of metal materials – mostly steel, aluminum and copper – and run them through a mega-shredder that can pulverize them into tinier pieces.

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