|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Uptown island platform |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Station statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Address | West 96th Street & Broadway New York, NY 10025 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Borough | Manhattan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Locale | Upper West Side | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Division | A (IRT) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Line | IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Services | 1 (all times) 2 (all times) 3 (all times) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Connection |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Structure | Underground | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Platforms | 2 island platforms (in service) cross-platform interchange 2 side platforms (abandoned) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tracks | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Opened | October 27, 1904[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Accessible | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Traffic | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Passengers (2010) | 11,526,582[2] 4.6% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rank | 23 out of 422 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Station succession | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Next north | 103rd Street (Broadway–7th local): 1 Central Park North – 110th Street (Lenox): 2 3 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Next south | 86th Street (local): 1 2 72nd Street (express): 2 3 91st Street (local, closed) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Next north | 231st Street (via Broadway–7th): 1 135th Street (via Lenox): 2 3 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Next south | 72nd Street: 1 2 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
96th Street is an express station on the IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of 96th Street and Broadway on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, it is served by the 1, 2 and 3 trains at all times.
Contents |
96th Street station was part of the original IRT subway and opened on the inaugural date of October 27, 1904.[1] At the time, the station served as the terminus of local trains and express service; express trains would run as locals north to 145th Street.[3]
Currently, 96th Street operates in the same manner as other normal express stations in the subway system.[4] There are two island platforms that allow for cross-platform interchanges between local (outer tracks) and express (inner tracks) trains heading in the same direction, in this case uptown or downtown.[4]
During normal service, downtown local trains use track B1 and downtown express train use track B2. Uptown express trains use track B3 and uptown local trains use track B4. These track designations are not posted in the station, but are used in the chaining of each individual track, used to measure distance by train crews on the subway.[5]
North of 96th Street, the express tracks descend and turn east under 104th Street on their way to the IRT Lenox Avenue Line and the Bronx, while the local tracks remain on the upper level. After the express tracks turn off, a currently unused center track starts at approximately 100th Street. Some last minute design changes added the third track northbound, and a provision for a third track was also built into the lower level Lenox branch of the junction. This accounts for the extra space seen alongside the active tracks in this area.
The station was extended and widened in 1950 to accommodate longer trains. The extent of the original station is clearly visible, as the renovation was not done in the same style. Differences in the walls and ceiling are visible at the south end. The creation of a new entrance at 94th Street led to the closure of the 91st Street station, as it would have been pointless to lengthen it for 10-car local trains with an adjacent station only a few blocks away.[4]
Access to the station was originally from stairways along the sidewalks of Broadway, to the extreme north end of the side platforms, then to the center island platforms via an underpass.[4] As of April 5, 2010, a new headhouse in Broadway's center median between 96th and 95th Streets rendered those entrances obsolete. New staircases and elevators descend to the platforms from the central station building. A former public restroom now being used as a community center in the median of Broadway north of 96th Street is sometimes mistaken for a former subway station headhouse; however, this structure was built decades after the subway station and conforms to the design of other public restroom buildings in New York City[6] rather than to the design of IRT subway headhouses such as 72nd Street.
The station's configuration, with both island and side platforms, is unusual in the New York City Subway. As originally intended, the island platforms facilitated an easy transfer between local and express trains, while the shorter side platforms provided easy access from local trains to the street. This design was also utilized at Brooklyn Bridge – City Hall and 14th Street – Union Square on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line. When the subway first opened, it was possible to open both sides of the train at once. As this is not practical on more modern trains, only the doors facing the island platforms are used (to permit transfers between local and express trains), and the side platforms were abandoned.[4]
Work is currently underway to turn the unused side platforms and former entrance/exits into storage space and offices. Switching system panels can be seen through new windows on the now walled off western side platform.
As 96th Street is a major transfer point, there are two sets of entrances and exits at the station. For the purposes of this article, entrance and exit are interchangeable. It is important to note that unlike more recent stations with full-length mezzanines, these entrance points are not connected; they can only be reached from the ends of the platforms. These distinctions are noted on the platforms.
95–96th Street Headhouse: In 2007, construction started on a headhouse on the Broadway median between 95th and 96th Streets. The headhouse opened on April 5, 2010. Entrances are on both the 95th and 96th Street sides of the headhouse. On the 96th Street side, there is a fare booth.
Original 96th Street exits: There were two staircases each at the southeastern and southwestern corners of 96th Street and Broadway.[7] Although fare control was at platform-level (on the unused side platforms), there was a free cross-under at this end of the station upon entering the paid area. This was due to an important sewer pipe which prevented engineers from building a mezzanine level similar to other express stations. The staircases and cross-under were closed when the headhouse was opened on April 5, 2010.[4]
93–94th Street exits: There are two staircases each at the southeastern and southwestern corners of 94th Street and Broadway.[7] There is a free cross-over at this end of the station.
In July 2006, Manhattan Community Board 7 approved an $80 million renovation of the station. Construction started in 2007. A new headhouse opened on April 5, 2010 and replaced the underpass and side platforms. The side platforms will now become office and control space, and the entrances removed to accommodate narrowed sidewalks resulting from the roadway being displaced by the new headhouse and its island.[8] Local residents have voiced dissatisfaction with the significant loss of sidewalks adjacent to businesses.[9] All of the beige tiles installed in the 1950s were removed and either revealed original tiles or were replaced with new tiles. The elevators opened on November 9, 2010 making the station ADA-accessible.[10]
External videos | |
---|---|
96 St Station House, Metropolitan Transportation Authority; April 16, 2010; 2:14 YouTube clip |