116th Street station (IRT Lexington Avenue Line)

116th Street is a local station on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of Lexington Avenue and 116th Street in East Harlem, it is served by the 6 train at all times, the <6> train during weekdays in the peak direction, and the 4 train during late nights. This station was constructed as part of the Dual Contracts by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company and opened in 1918.

116 Street  ​
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
Station statistics
Address	East 116th Street & Lexington Avenue New York, NY 10035[1]
Borough	Manhattan
Locale	East Harlem
Coordinates	40.798607°N 73.942022°W
Division	A (IRT)
Line	IRT Lexington Avenue Line
Services	4  (late nights) ​   6  (all times) <6>  (weekdays until 8:45 p.m., peak direction)
Transit	NYCT Bus: M98, M101, M102, M103, M116[2]
Structure	Underground
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	2
Other information
Opened	July 17, 1918[3]
Station code	393[4]
Opposite- direction transfer	No
Traffic
2019	4,572,453[5]  2.4%
Rank	105 out of 424[5]
Station succession
Next north	125th Street: 4  ​6  <6>
Next south	110th Street: 4  ​6  <6>
Location
Track layout to 125 St to 110 St
Street map
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times Stops late nights only Stops rush hours in the peak direction only

History

A view of the station platforms

Following the completion of the original subway, there were plans to construct a line along Manhattan's east side north of 42nd Street. The original plan for what became the extension north of 42nd Street was to continue it south through Irving Place and into what is now the BMT Broadway Line at Ninth Street and Broadway. In July 1911, the IRT had withdrawn from the talks, and the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT) was to operate on Lexington Avenue. The IRT submitted an offer for what became its portion of the Dual Contracts on February 27, 1912.[6][7]

In 1913, as part of the Dual Contracts, which were signed on March 19, 1913,[8] the Public Service Commission planned to split the original Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) system from looking like a "Z" system (as seen on a map) to an "H"-shaped system. The original system would be split into three segments: two north–south lines, carrying through trains over the Lexington Avenue and Broadway–Seventh Avenue Lines, and a west–east shuttle under 42nd Street. This would form a roughly "H"-shaped system.[9][10] It was predicted that the subway extension would lead to the growth of the Upper East Side and the Bronx.[11][12]

116th Street station opened on July 17, 1918, with service initially running between Grand Central–42nd Street station and 167th Street via the line's local tracks.[3] On August 1, the "H system" was put into place, with through service beginning on the new east and west side trunk lines, and the institution of the 42nd Street Shuttle along the old connection between the sides.[13] The cost of the extension from Grand Central was $58 million.[14]

Station layout

G	Street level	Exit/entrance
P Platform level	Side platform
	Northbound local	← toward Pelham Bay Park or Parkchester (125th Street) ← toward Woodlawn late nights (125th Street)
	Southbound local	→ toward Brooklyn Bridge (110th Street) → → toward New Lots Avenue late nights (110th Street) →
	Side platform
Express tracks[15]	Northbound express	← do not stop here
	Southbound express	→ do not stop here →

This underground station has two tracks and two side platforms, and serves local trains only. The two express tracks pass underneath on a lower level and are not visible from the platforms.[16] The 6 stops here at all times, and the 4 stops here during late nights.[17][18]

Fare control is at platform level, and no crossover or crossunder is provided.[19][20] The station has standard IRT number and station name tiles. Both platforms have emergency exits from the lower level express tracks.

Exits

This station has staircases that lead out to the four corners of the intersection of 116th Street and Lexington Avenue. Staircases on the western corners serve the southbound platform, while those on the eastern corners serve the northbound platform.[21]

References

1. "Borough of Manhattan, New York City". Government of New York City. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
2. "Manhattan Bus Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. July 2019. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
3. "Lexington Av. Line to be Opened Today" (PDF). The New York Times. July 17, 1918. p. 13. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
4. "Station Developers' Information". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
5. "Facts and Figures: Annual Subway Ridership 2014–2019". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
6. Walker, James Blaine (1918). Fifty Years of Rapid Transit — 1864 to 1917. New York, N.Y.: Law Printing. pp. 230–233. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
7. "Petition for Subway in Lexington Ave". The New York Times. May 22, 1912. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 16, 2009. A petition is being circulated among the residents and property owners of the section just south of the Grand Central Station, in Park and Lexington Avenues, protesting against the proposed abandonment of the construction of the Subway in Lexington Avenue, between Forty-third and Thirty-second Streets.
8. "Subway Contracts Solemnly Signed; Cheers at the Ceremonial Function When McCall Gets Willcox to Attest" (PDF). The New York Times. March 20, 1913. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
9. "Money Set Aside For New Subways; Board of Estimate Approves City Contracts to be Signed To-day with Interboro and B.R.T." (PDF). The New York Times. March 19, 1913. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
10. Engineering News-record. McGraw-Hill Publishing Company. 1916. p. 846.
11. Whitney, Travis H. (March 10, 1918). "The Seventh and Lexington Avenue Subways Will Revive Dormant Sections — Change in Operation That Will Transform Original Four-Tracked Subway Into Two Four-Tracked Systems and Double Present Capacity of the Interborough". The New York Times. p. 12. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
12. "Public Service Commission Fixes July 15 For Opening of The New Seventh and Lexington Avenue Subway Lines — Will Afford Better Service and Less Crowding — Shuttle Service for Forty-Second Street — How the Various Lines of the Dual System Are Grouped for Operation and List of Stations on All Lines". The New York Times. May 19, 1918. p. 32. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
13. "Open New Subway Lines to Traffic; Called a Triumph — Great H System Put in Operation Marks an Era in Railroad Construction — No Hitch in the Plans — But Public Gropes Blindly to Find the Way in Maze of New Stations — Thousands Go Astray — Leaders in City's Life Hail Accomplishment of Great Task at Meeting at the Astor". The New York Times. August 2, 1918. p. 1. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
14. "Finish a New Link of the Dual Subway; Lexington Avenue Line North of Forty-second Street to Begin Local Service Wednesday. Branch Extends to Bronx Through service, with Times SquareGrand Central Shuttle Connections, to Open Soon. Changes in the Bronx". The New York Times. July 11, 1918. p. 20. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
15. Station Reporter — 6 Train
16. Dougherty, Peter (2006) [2002]. Tracks of the New York City Subway 2006 (3rd ed.). Dougherty. OCLC 49777633 – via Google Books.
17. "4 Subway Timetable, Effective September 13, 2020". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
18. "6 Subway Timetable, Effective September 13, 2020". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
19. Cox, Jeremiah (June 10, 2011). "The exit on the uptown side". subwaynut.com. Archived from the original on June 1, 2015. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
20. Cox, Jeremiah (June 10, 2011). "Approaching the downtown turnstiles". subwaynut.com. Archived from the original on June 1, 2015. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
21. "116th Street Neighborhood Map". mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. April 2018. Retrieved December 28, 2020.

External links

• nycsubway.org – IRT East Side Line: 116th Street
• nycsubway.org — In Everything There is a Season Artwork by Robert Blackburn (2005)
• Station Reporter — 4 Train
• Station Reporter — 6 Train
• MTA's Arts For Transit — 116th Street (IRT Lexington Avenue Line)
• 116th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Platforms from Google Maps Street View