Bergen Street (IND Culver Line)

Bergen Street
New York City Subway rapid transit station
Station statistics
Address Bergen Street & Smith Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201
Borough Brooklyn
Locale Boerum Hill
Coordinates 40°41′14.11″N 73°59′24.02″W / 40.6872528°N 73.9900056°W / 40.6872528; -73.9900056Coordinates: 40°41′14.11″N 73°59′24.02″W / 40.6872528°N 73.9900056°W / 40.6872528; -73.9900056
Division B (IND)
Line IND Culver Line
Services       F  (all times)
      G  (all times)
Transit connections NYCT Bus: B57, B65
Structure Underground
Levels 2 (lower level platforms not for regular service)
Platforms 4 side platforms (2 on each level; 2 on upper level in regular service)
Tracks 4 (2 on upper level in regular service)
Other information
Opened March 20, 1933 (1933-03-20)
Accessibility Same-platform wheelchair transfer available
Traffic
Passengers (2014) 3,711,317[1] Increase 1.7%
Rank 139 out of 421
Station succession
Next north Jay Street – MetroTech (via Culver): F 
Hoyt–Schermerhorn Streets (via Crosstown): G 
Jay Street – MetroTech (express): no regular service
Next south Carroll Street (local): F  G 
Seventh Avenue (express): no regular service

Bergen Street is an bi-level express station (currently operating as a local station) on the IND Culver Line of the New York City Subway, located at the intersection of Bergen Street and Smith Street on the border of Cobble Hill and Boerum Hill in Brooklyn.[2][3] It is served by the F and G trains at all times.

History

Bergen Street opened on March 20, 1933, as the first station of the IND Culver Line. Service began one month after the expansion of the IND into Brooklyn to Jay Street – Borough Hall.[4] The first express train for Manhattan from Bergen Street left at 6:25 A.M. carrying 30 passengers, and the first rush hour of service for the station brought 121 passengers, of which most of came from the Bergen and Smith Street Line Trolleys of the BMT.[5] A and C trains from the IND Eighth Avenue Line terminated here, running to 207th Street in Manhattan and 205th Street in the Bronx respectively.[4][6] A southward extension to Church Avenue opened on October 7 of that same year.[4][6] In 1937, the IND Crosstown Line was connected to the station, served by the GG train (today's G service).[6][7]

After operating only between 1968 and 1976, the lower level express platforms were permanently removed from service in the 1990s. Around this time, the station was modernized.[8] In 1999, a major fire occurred originating in an equipment room on the station's lower level, after water shorted out old wires in the station. A 1930s-era relay room at the station, which controlled the interlocking north of the station, was destroyed in the fire. The station was closed for several months, with G service suspended south of Hoyt–Schermerhorn Streets.[9][10][11] Signals and switches at the station were replaced and modernized after the fire,[8] and again in 2008.[12]

Station layout

G Street Level Exit/Entrance
B1
Local platforms		 Side platform, doors will open on the right
Northbound local ← toward Jamaica – 179th Street (Jay Street – MetroTech)
← toward Court Square (Hoyt–Schermerhorn Streets)
Southbound local → toward Coney Island – Stillwell Avenue (Carroll Street) →
→ toward Church Avenue (Carroll Street) →
Side platform, doors will open on the right
B2
Express platforms		 Side platform, not in service
Northbound express ← No regular service
(No service: Jay Street – MetroTech)
Southbound express → No regular service
(No service: Seventh Avenue)
Side platform, not in service

Bergen Street is laid out similar to other subway stations located below narrow streets, with two levels. The upper level - the only one used in regular service - serves local trains, while the lower level has in the past seen express service.[8] As a result of the station's proximity to ground level, it is one of only three as-built express stations in the system that do not allow free transfers between directions. The others are 86th Street on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line and Nostrand Avenue on the IND Fulton Street Line. However, as there is no express service, the station is operated like a local station without any transfers between directions.

Entrances and exits

Exit location Exit type Number of exits Platform served
NW corner of Bergen Street and Smith Street Staircase 1 Southbound
SW corner of Bergen Street and Smith Street Staircase 1 Northbound
NE corner of Bergen Street and Smith Street Staircase 1 Southbound
SE corner of Bergen Street and Smith Street Staircase 1 Northbound
NW corner of Warren Street and Smith Street Staircase 1 Southbound
NE corner of Warren Street and Smith Street Staircase 1 Northbound
Brooklyn-bound entrance at Bergen Street and Smith Street

Each platform has one same-level fare control area at either end and there are no crossovers or crossunders. The full-time ones are at the north end and each has a turnstile bank, token booth, and two street stairs. The ones on the Manhattan-bound platform go up to either eastern corners of Bergen and Smith Streets while those on the Coney Island-bound platform go up to either western corners.[2][13] The fare control areas on the south end of the platforms are unstaffed, containing full height turnstiles and one street stair to the northeast corner of Warren and Smith Streets on the Manhattan-bound platform and the northwest corner for the Coney Island-bound platform.[2][13]

Tracks and platforms

Bergen Street's lower level, though opened at the same time as the upper level, was not used in revenue service until 1968, when rush hour F express service along the IND Culver Line began. This service ran until 1976, ending due to service cuts and complaints from Culver local residents about losing direct access to Manhattan.[8][14][15][16] The lower level was abandoned afterward;[8][14][15] trains rerouted via the express tracks during construction or service disruptions bypass the station towards Jay Street (northbound) or 7th Avenue (southbound).[17] The lower level platforms have not been used since except for a scene for the movie Jacob's Ladder.[17] The tile was removed during 1990's renovations, leaving unpainted concrete and corrugated metal, old lights and signage (including original IND signs reading "BERGN" on support pillars, and modern Exit signs); all of which are not in usable condition.[14][17] Steel doors on the upper level block access to the staircases to the lower level, which is used for support facilities, storage of heavy equipment and occasional layups of A and C trains.[8][14]

A G train of R68 cars at the station

At the north (Manhattan- and Queens-bound) end of the upper level, the Culver Line local tracks diverge, splitting into four tracks. The F train, using the outer pair of tracks, ramps down to the lower level, merges with the innermost, express tracks located on the lower level, and continues north to Jay Street – MetroTech. Meanwhile, the G train, using the inner pair of tracks, stays on the upper level before making a hard right turn east under Schermerhorn Street to Hoyt–Schermerhorn Streets. The lower level tracks can only be reached by trains running to or from Jay Street – MetroTech since they do not connect to the IND Crosstown Line.[8][13]

Both levels have a switch south of the platforms, allowing terminating trains to reverse direction.[13] This was used in regular service prior to the extension of the line south to Church Avenue.

Design and artwork

Both platforms on the upper level have a dark green trim line on a lime green border and name tablets reading "BERGEN ST." in white sans serif lettering on a dark green background and green border, much of which was installed during the 1990s renovations. The new tile job replaced the original small "BERGEN" tiles, and tiled over advertisement panels. Dark green i-beam columns run along the entire length of both platforms at regular intervals with alternating ones having the standard black station name plate in white lettering.

References

  1. ↑ "Facts and Figures: Annual Subway Ridership". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved 2015-04-27.
  2. 1 2 3 "MTA Neighborhood Maps: Red Hook" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transit Authority (New York). 2015. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  3. ↑ "MTA Neighborhood Maps: Downtown Brooklyn & Borough Hall" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transit Authority (New York). 2015. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 Joseph B. Raskin (1 November 2013). The Routes Not Taken: A Trip Through New York City's Unbuilt Subway System. Fordham University Press. ISBN 978-0-8232-5369-2. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  5. ↑ "City Subway Adds Link: Extension to Bergen–Smith Street Station in Brooklyn Opened". New York Times. March 21, 1933. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 "Independent Subway Services Beginning in 1932". thejoekorner.com. August 21, 2013. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  7. ↑ O'Neill, Natalie (July 19, 2012). "G wiz! MTA plans to save the G train extension!". The Brooklyn Paper. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Review of F Line Operations, Ridership, and Infrastructure" (PDF). nysenate.gov. MTA New York City Transit Authority. October 7, 2009. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  9. ↑ Thompson, Clive (February 28, 2005). "Derailed: Beset by floods and fires and built on technology that predates the Model T, the subway, the very essence of New York, has become frighteningly fragile. And now that the MTA has dug itself into a deep financial hole, it has started traveling back in time to 1975.". New York (magazine). Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  10. ↑ Lueck, Thomas J. (March 13, 1999). "After Station Fire, Subway Lines Face Months of Turmoil". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  11. ↑ "METRO NEWS BRIEFS: NEW YORK; Smoky Fire Halts Service On Four Subway Lines". The New York Times. March 12, 1999. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  12. ↑ "Review of the G Line" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transit Authority (New York). July 10, 2013. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  13. 1 2 3 4 "Review of the G Line: Appendices" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York). July 10, 2013. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
  14. 1 2 3 4 Gerberer, Raanan (March 6, 2013). "LIGHT AT END OF TUNNEL: F Train Express may return". brooklyneagle.com. Brooklyn Eagle. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  15. 1 2 Umanov, Ben (September 22, 2014). "F Train Express Service Might be Coming Back to Brooklyn". gowanusyourfaceoff.com. Gowanus Your Face OFf. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  16. ↑ O'Neill, Natalie (April 13, 2012). "History shows it’s not the G train ‘extension’ — it’s the G train renewal". The Brooklyn Paper. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  17. 1 2 3 Flegenheimer, Matt (November 29, 2013). "In Subways, Suddenly, 2 Glimpses of History". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 September 2015.

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