The cars — a variant of the R-211s running on the A line in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens since last year — replace the half-century-old R-44 cars serving Staten Island since 1973.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The Staten Island Railway (SIR) is rolling into the future, one train car at a time. On Tuesday morning, the newest train for the SIR departed from Platform 5 at the St. George Terminal as part of the inaugural ride for the agency’s new, state-of-the-art R211S train cars.

The cars replace ones from 1973, which entered service when the Staten Island Railway was referred to as the "Toonerville Trolley."