Middletown Road station

Middletown Road   ​
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
View south from northbound platform
Station statistics
Address	Middletown Road and Westchester Avenue Bronx, New York
Borough	The Bronx
Locale	Pelham Bay
Coordinates	40°50′36″N73°50′12″W / 40.843424°N 73.836751°W / 40.843424; -73.836751
Division	A (IRT) [1]
Line	IRT Pelham Line
Services	6   (all times except weekdays until 8:45 p.m., peak direction) <6>  (weekdays until 8:45 p.m., peak direction)​
Transit	NYCT Bus: Bx8, Bx24
Structure	Elevated
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	3 (2 in regular service)
Other information
Opened	December 20, 1920;104 years ago (1920-12-20)
Rebuilt	October 5, 2013;11 years ago (October 5, 2013) to May 4, 2014;10 years ago (May 4, 2014)
Accessible	not ADA-accessible; accessibility planned
Opposite- direction transfer	Yes
Traffic
2023	401,976 [2]   10.5%
Rank	401 out of 423 [2]
Services Preceding station New York City Subway Following station Buhre Avenue 6   <6> ​ toward Pelham Bay Park Local Westchester Square–East Tremont Avenue 6   <6> ​ toward Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall
Location Show map of New York City Subway Show map of New York City Show map of New York
Track layout Legend to Pelham Bay Park to Buhre Avenue Middletown Road to Westchester Yard Westchester Square East Tremont Avenue to Zerega Avenue to Parkchester
Street map
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times except rush hours in the peak direction Stops rush hours in the peak direction only

The Middletown Road station is a local station of the IRT Pelham Line of the New York City Subway. Located at Middletown Road and Westchester Avenue in the Pelham Bay neighborhood of the Bronx, it is served by the 6 train at all times except weekdays in the peak direction, when the <6> train takes over.

History

Construction and opening

In 1913, New York City, the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company, and the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) reached an agreement, known as the Dual Contracts, to dramatically expand subway service across the city. The portion of the agreement between New York City and the IRT was known as Contract 3. As part of this contract, the IRT agreed to construct a branch of the original subway, which opened in 1904, ^[3] north along Lexington Avenue with branches along Jerome Avenue and a three-track branch running northeast via 138th Street, Southern Boulevard and Westchester Avenue to Pelham Bay Park. ^[4]

The construction of the Lexington Avenue Line, in conjunction with the construction of the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line would change the operations of the IRT system. Instead of having trains go via Broadway, turning onto 42nd Street, before finally turning onto Park Avenue, there would be two trunk lines connected by the 42nd Street Shuttle. The system would be changed from looking like a "Z" system on a map to an "H" system. One trunk would run via the new Lexington Avenue Line down Park Avenue, and the other trunk would run via the new Seventh Avenue Line up Broadway. ^[5]

This station opened on December 20, 1920, as part of the final extension of the Pelham Line from Westchester Square to Pelham Bay Park. ^{[6] [7] [8]} Service to Pelham Bay Park was originally provided by a mix of through and shuttle trains during the 1920s. ^{[9] : 73–74}

Renovation

From October 5, 2013, to May 4, 2014, the station was closed for rehabilitation work. ^[10] The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) was sued for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by not including elevators in the renovation. ^[11] The United States Department of Justice joined the lawsuit as a plaintiff in 2018, ^{[12] [13]} and a federal judge ruled in 2019 that the MTA had indeed violated the ADA. ^{[14] [15]} The MTA announced in December 2024 that elevators at Middletown Road would be installed as part of the agency's 2020–2024 capital plan. ^{[16] [17]}

Station layout

Platform level	Side platform
	Southbound local	← toward Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall (Westchester Square–East Tremont Avenue)
	Peak-direction express	←No regular service
	Northbound local	→ toward Pelham Bay Park (Buhre Avenue) →
	Side platform
Mezzanine		Fare control, station agent, MetroCard and OMNY machines
Ground	Street level	Exit/entrance

This elevated station has two side platforms and three tracks. The center express track is not used in regular service. South of the station are track leads to Westchester Yard, the main yard for all 6 and <6> trains. The center and Manhattan-bound local tracks rise above these leads. ^[18] The 6 local train serves the station at all times except rush hours in the peak direction, when the <6> express train serves the station instead. ^[19] The next stop to the south is Westchester Square–East Tremont Avenue, while the next stop to the north is Buhre Avenue. ^[20]

Both platforms have beige windscreens and red canopies with green frames and support columns in the center. On either ends are white waist-high steel fences with sodium lampposts at regular intervals. The station name signs are in the standard black plates with white Helvetica lettering.^{[ citation needed ]}

Exits

This station has one wooden elevated mezzanine below the platforms and tracks. Two staircases from the center of each platform go down to the mezzanine, where a turnstile bank provides access to and from the station. Outside fare control, there is a token booth and two street stairs. One goes south down to the triangular corner of Middletown Road and Westchester Avenue and the other to the north side of Westchester Avenue. ^[21]

References

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. "Annual Subway Ridership (2018–2023)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
3. "Exercises In City Hall.; Mayor Declares Subway Open -- Ovations for Parsons and McDonald". The New York Times. October 28, 1904. ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on May 4, 2022. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
4. The Dual System of Rapid Transit. New York State Public Service Commission. September 1912. Archived from the original on September 25, 2019. Retrieved September 12, 2019– via nycsubway.org.
5. Sealey, D. A. (May 4, 1916). "Rapid Transit Work in 1915, New York City". Engineering News-record. 75 (18). McGraw-Hill Publishing Company: 812–814.
6. A Comprehensive General and Industrial Survey: The Bronx in the City of New York. Bronx Board of Trade. 1931. p. 27.
7. Brooklyn Daily Eagle Almanac. Brooklyn Daily Eagle. 1922. p. 372.
8. Moodys Manual of Railroads and Corporation Securities. Moody Manual Company. 1922.
9. Annual Report. J.B. Lyon Company. 1922.
10. Temporary Station Closures Archived April 11, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
11. Ross, Barbara; Gregorian, Dareh (June 29, 2016). "Disability rights groups sue MTA for excluding elevator at newly renovated Bronx subway station". nydailynews.com. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
12. Nir, Sarah Maslin (March 14, 2018). "M.T.A. Violated Law Omitting Elevators in Station Upgrade, Prosecutors Say". The New York Times. Retrieved December 21, 2024.
13. Gonzalez, Angi (March 14, 2018). "Justice Department joins disability rights activists in lawsuit against MTA over accessibility". Spectrum News NY1. Retrieved December 21, 2024.
14. Kim, Elizabeth (March 7, 2019). "Judge Rules MTA Should Have Installed Elevators When It Renovated Bronx Subway Station". Gothamist. Archived from the original on December 25, 2019. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
15. Guse, Clayton (March 6, 2019). "Judge orders MTA to install subway elevators whenever it does major station renovations — and for whatever it costs". nydailynews.com. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
16. "MTA: More accessibility coming to stations in the Bronx". News 12 - Default. December 14, 2024. Retrieved December 21, 2024.
17. Russo-Lennon, Barbara (December 12, 2024). "Queensboro Plaza subway station unveils new elevator, accessibility features". amNewYork. Retrieved December 21, 2024.
18. Dougherty, Peter (2020). Tracks of the New York City Subway 2020 (16th ed.). Dougherty. OCLC   1056711733.
19. "6Subway Timetable, Effective December 15, 2024". Metropolitan Transportation Authority . Retrieved December 16, 2024.
20. "Subway Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. September 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
21. "Middletown Road Neighborhood Map" (PDF). new.mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. April 2018. Retrieved February 28, 2019.

External links

• nycsubway.org – IRT Pelham Line: Middletown Road
• Station Reporter — 6 Train
• The Subway Nut — Middletown Road Pictures Archived June 14, 2017, at the Wayback Machine
• Middletown Road entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Platforms from Google Maps Street View