Pelham_Parkway_(IRT_Dyre_Avenue_Line)

Pelham Parkway station (IRT Dyre Avenue Line)

Pelham Parkway station (IRT Dyre Avenue Line)

New York City Subway station in the Bronx

The Pelham Parkway station (referred to on strip maps as Pelham Parkway-Esplanade) is a station on the IRT Dyre Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of Pelham Parkway North and the Esplanade (erroneously signed as "Esplanade Avenue" in the station) in the Bronx, it is served by the 5 train at all times.[3] This station was built as part of the New York, Westchester and Boston Railway (NYW&B), and opened in 1912. This station closed in 1937 with the NYW&B, but reopened in 1941 as a subway station after the portion of the line in the Bronx was purchased by New York City.

Not to be confused with Pelham Parkway (IRT White Plains Road Line).
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History

Early history

Old "To City"/"From City" train indicators from the New York, Westchester and Boston Railway

Pelham Parkway station opened on May 29, 1912 as an express station of the New York, Westchester and Boston Railway (NYW&B). This station was closed on December 12, 1937 when the NYW&B went bankrupt.[4]

The New York City Board of Transportation (BOT) bought the NYW&B within the Bronx north of East 180th Street in April 1940 for $1.8 million and rehabilitated the line.[5]: 59–60  On May 15, 1941, a shuttle service was implemented between Dyre Avenue and East 180th Street using IRT gate cars.[6][7] The Dyre Avenue Line was connected directly to the White Plains Road Line north of East 180th Street for $3 million and through service began on May 6, 1957.[8][9]

On February 27, 1962, the New York City Transit Authority announced a $700,000 modernization plan of the Dyre Avenue Line. The plan included the reconstruction of the Dyre Avenue station, and the extension of the platforms of the other four stations on the line, including Pelham Parkway, to 525 feet (160 m) to accommodate ten-car trains. At the time, the line was served by 9-car trains during the day, and 3-car shuttles overnight. Between 1954 and 1961, ridership on the line increased by 100 percent, owing to the development of the northeast Bronx.[10][11]

On April 18, 1965, IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line trains and IRT Lexington Avenue Line trains swapped their northern routings, with Broadway–Seventh Avenue 2 trains running via the IRT White Plains Road Line to 241st Street, and Lexington Avenue 5 trains running via the Dyre Avenue Line to Dyre Avenue.[12][13][14]

Later years

In 1981, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) listed the station among the 69 most deteriorated stations in the subway system.[15] Under the 2015–2019 MTA Capital Program, this station, along with thirty other New York City Subway stations, was slated to undergo a complete overhaul and would be entirely closed for up to six months. Updates would have included cellular service, Wi-Fi, charging stations, improved signage, and improved station lighting.[16][17] However, these renovations were deferred until the 2020–2024 Capital Program due to a lack of funding.[18]

Station layout

Ground Street level Exit/entrance, station house, fare control, station agent
Platform level Northbound local ← "5" train toward Eastchester–Dyre Avenue (Gun Hill Road)
Island platform
Northbound express → No regular service
Southbound express → No regular service
Island platform
Southbound local → "5" train toward Flatbush Avenue–Brooklyn College weekdays, Bowling Green evenings/weekends (Morris Park) →
→ "5" train late night shuttle toward East 180th Street (Morris Park) →
2008 view of the station house entrance

This station was originally an express station of the New York, Westchester and Boston Railway, with two island platforms and four tracks. The station, served by the 5 train at all times,[19] is between Morris Park to the south and Gun Hill Road to the north.[20] An original NYW&B-era train indicator can still be found inside the station.

Today, the two local tracks remain in revenue service, and the southbound express track remains in use as a test track. The northbound express track ends about halfway between the north end of the station and the northern tunnel portal, however, it used to end at a bumper block just south of the station. The station is designed with two island platforms; however it is not considered an express station. The northbound express track had been restored at this station in October 2014. The purpose of the restoration was to serve work trains for the Dyre Avenue Line signal modernization project.[21] As of 2017 the express tracks are also being used to develop a pilot program for platform screen doors technology.[22]

Pelham Parkway is the only completely underground station on the Dyre Avenue Line and the only underground station in the system not originally built for subway use. It is also the northernmost underground IRT station, and the only four-track underground station in the Bronx.

Exit

The station's only entrance and exit is a head house in the median of the Esplanade north of Pelham Parkway North.[23]

References

  1. [1]
    "Glossary". Second Avenue Subway Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS) (PDF). Vol. 1. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. March 4, 2003. pp. 1–2. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 26, 2021. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  2. [2]
    "Annual Subway Ridership (2018–2023)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
  3. [3]
    "5 Subway Timetable, Effective June 26, 2022". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved August 26, 2023.
  4. [4]
    "Westchester Line Passes with 1937". The New York Times. January 1, 1938. p. 36. Retrieved October 4, 2011.
  5. [5]
    Cudahy, Brian J. (2003). A Century of Subways: Celebrating 100 Years of New York's Underground Railways. New York: Fordham University Press. ISBN 9780823222957.
  6. [6]
    "Rail Line is Added to Subway System". The New York Times. May 16, 1941. p. 25. Retrieved October 4, 2011.
  7. [7]
    "Transit Record for 1940-1941". Photobucket. March 1942. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  8. [8]
    "Subway Trains Run to Dyre Avenue: Through Service Replacing Shuttle for Part of Each Day on Bronx Line" (PDF). The New York Times. May 7, 1957. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
  9. [9]
    "IRT Spur Opens Today: Dyre Avenue Line in Bronx Will Have Five Stations" (PDF). The New York Times. May 6, 1957. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
  10. [10]
    "For Release: Tuesday, Feb. 27, 1962 #238" (PDF). New York City Transit Authority. February 27, 1962. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
  11. [11]
    "IRT Improvements Set: $700,000 Contract Awarded for Work on Dyre Ave. Line" (PDF). The New York Times. February 28, 1962. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
  12. [12]
    "New Routes Scheduled for 2 IRT Lines in Bronx" (PDF). The New York Times. March 22, 1965. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
  13. [13]
    "Better Subway Service For Bronx IRT Riders Starting Sunday, April 18". Photobucket. New York City Transit Authority. April 1965. Retrieved August 31, 2016.
  14. [14]
    "Better Subway Service For Bronx IRT Riders Starting Sunday, April 18". Photobucket. New York City Transit Authority. April 1965. Retrieved August 31, 2016.
  15. [15]
    Gargan, Edward A. (June 11, 1981). "Agency Lists Its 69 Most Deteriorated Subway Stations". The New York Times. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
  16. [16]
    "MTA Will Completely Close 30 Subway Stations For Months-Long "Revamp"". Gothamist. Archived from the original on August 1, 2016. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
  17. [17]
    "MTAStations" (PDF). governor.ny.gov. Government of the State of New York. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
  18. [18]
    Berger, Paul (April 3, 2018). "New York Subway Cuts Back Plans to Renovate Stations". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  19. [19]
    "5 Subway Timetable, Effective June 26, 2022". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved August 26, 2023.
  20. [20]
    "Subway Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. September 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  21. [21]
    "Signal System Modernization of the Dyre Avenue Line". judlau.com.
  22. [22]
    "Capital Plan 2015-2019 - Platform Safety Technology Rollout - T7080618". MTA. Archived from the original on March 23, 2020. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  23. [23]
    "MTA Neighborhood Maps: Pelham Parkway" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
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