86th Street (IRT Lexington Avenue Line)

86th Street
NYCS 4 NYCS 5 NYCS 6 NYCS 6d
New York City Subway rapid transit station

Local downtown platform
Station statistics
Address East 86th Street & Lexington Avenue
New York, NY 10028
Borough Manhattan
Locale Upper East Side
Coordinates 40°46′46″N 73°57′20″W / 40.779469°N 73.955626°WCoordinates: 40°46′46″N 73°57′20″W / 40.779469°N 73.955626°W
Division A (IRT)
Line       IRT Lexington Avenue Line
Services       4  (all times)
      5  (all except late nights)
      6  (all times) <6> (weekdays until 8:45 p.m., peak direction)
Connection
  • NYCT Bus: M86, M98 SB, M101 SB, M102 SB, M103 SB
  • MTA Bus: BxM1
Structure Underground
Levels 2
Platforms 4 side platforms (2 on each level)
Tracks 4 (2 on each level)
Other information
Opened July 17, 1918
Traffic
Passengers (2014) 20,735,032[1]Increase 1%
Rank 9 out of 421
Station succession
Next north 96th Street (local): 4  6  <6>
125th Street (express): 4  5 
Next south

77th Street (local): 4  6  <6>
59th Street (express): 4  5 

86th Street Subway Station (Dual System IRT)
MPS New York City Subway System MPS
NRHP Reference # 05000236[2]
Added to NRHP March 30, 2005

86th Street is an express station on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of Lexington Avenue and 86th Street on the Upper East Side, it is served by the 4 and 6 trains at all times, the 5 train at all times except late nights, and the <6> during weekdays in peak direction.

Station layout

G Street Level Exit/Entrance
B1
Local platforms
Side platform, doors will open on the right
Northbound local NYCS 6 NYCS 6d toward Pelham Bay Park (NYCS 6 toward Parkchester PM rush hours) (96th Street)
NYCS 4 toward Woodlawn (late nights) (96th Street)
Southbound local NYCS 6 NYCS 6d toward Brooklyn Bridge – City Hall (NYCS 4 toward New Lots Avenue late nights) (77th Street)
Side platform, doors will open on the right
B2
Express platforms
Side platform, doors will open on the right
Northbound express NYCS 4 toward Woodlawn (125th Street)
NYCS 5 toward Nereid Avenue PM rush hours or Eastchester – Dyre Avenue all times (125th Street)
Southbound express NYCS 4 toward Crown Heights – Utica Avenue (59th Street)
NYCS 5 toward Flatbush Avenue – Brooklyn College weekdays, Bowling Green weekends (59th Street)
Side platform, doors will open on the right

This underground station, opened on July 17, 1918 as part of an expansion of the IRT Lexington Avenue Line north of Grand Central – 42nd Street, is built on two levels. Each level has two tracks and two side platforms. The upper level serves local trains while the lower level serves express trains. There is no express service during late nights and the lower level is closed during that period. Three staircases connect the levels on each side.

There are no crossovers or crossunders between the platforms, making this one of only three express stations in the system where free transfers between opposite directions are not possible (the other is Nostrand Avenue on the IND Fulton Street Line, and Bergen Street, whose lower level is closed, on the IND Culver Line). Each platform has its original Dual Contracts trim line consisting mostly of yellows and browns. Small "86" tablets in a circle run along this trim line. The name tablets have "86TH STREET" in white Times New Roman font on a reddish brown background with a light brown inner boarder and green outer boarder. Dark blue columns run along all four platforms at regular intervals.

This station underwent two renovations. The first took place with the opening of a Gimbels department store directly above in the early 1970s. The renovation took place mostly in the fare control areas. The second renovation was completed in Fall 2005.[3] It consisted of repainting the columns from red to dark blue, as well as the removal of train arrival devices on the upper level that gave notices of approaching express trains on the lower level; the latter were replaced with countdown clocks, on both levels, which performed the same function.[4][5]

Each upper level platform has one same-level fare control area in the center. The southbound side has a turnstile bank, token booth, two staircases going up to southwest corner of East 86th Street and Lexington Avenue, and two more that are built inside a Best Buy store on the northwest corner of the same intersection. The northbound fare control has an unstaffed turnstile bank and two staircases going up to the southeast corner of East 86th Street and Lexington Avenue. Two more staircases are built inside a shopping arcade that is in the basement of a former Petco store on the northeast corner of the same intersection. The building is currently unoccupied.

The 2004 artwork here is called Happy City by Peter Sis. It consists of four different glass and etched stone mosaic murals in the shapes of huge eyes surrounded by various animals and objects. They are located at each top of the four staircases near the fare control areas that go down to the lower level express platforms.

This station was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 30, 2005.

Exits

Exit location Exit type Number of exits Platform served
NW corner of Lexington Avenue and 86th Street Staircase 2 Southbound
SW corner of Lexington Avenue and 86th Street Staircase 2 Southbound
NE corner of Lexington Avenue and 86th Street Staircase 2 Northbound
SE corner of Lexington Avenue and 86th Street Staircase 2 Northbound

Notable places nearby

Image gallery

References

  1. "Facts and Figures: Annual Subway Ridership". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved 2014-04-06.
  2. "NPS Focus". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. Retrieved November 6, 2011.
  3. http://www.subwaynut.com/irt/86n4/index.php
  4. "Learn More about Countdown Clocks...". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved 2011-10-31.
  5. "Countdown Clocks Station List". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved 2011-10-31.

External links

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