Baychester Avenue station

Baychester Avenue
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
June 2006 view of the platforms of Baychester Avenue station towards the canopies from the Dyre Avenue-bound platform
Station statistics
Address	Baychester Avenue & Tillotson Avenue Bronx, New York
Borough	The Bronx
Locale	Eastchester, Baychester
Coordinates	40.87864°N 73.838369°W / 40.87864; -73.838369
Division	A (IRT, formerly NYW&B)[1]
Line	IRT Dyre Avenue Line
Services	5  (all times)
Structure	Embankment
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	3 (2 in regular service)
Other information
Opened	May 29, 1912; 112 years ago (1912-05-29) (NYW&B station) May 15, 1941; 83 years ago (1941-05-15) (re-opened as a Subway station)
Closed	December 12, 1937; 87 years ago (1937-12-12) (NYW&B station)
Opposite- direction transfer	Yes
Traffic
2023	540,493[2]  1.5%
Rank	375 out of 423[2]
Services Preceding station New York City Subway Following station Eastchester–Dyre Avenue Terminus Local Gun Hill Road toward Flatbush Avenue–Brooklyn College
Former services Preceding station New York, Westchester and Boston Railway Following station Dyre Avenue toward White Plains or Port Chester via Columbus Avenue Main Line Gun Hill Road toward Harlem River
Location Show map of New York City Subway Show map of New York City Show map of New York
Track layout to Eastchester–Dyre Avenue to Gun Hill Road
Street map
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times Stops weekdays and weekday late nights Stops weekends and weekend late nights

The Baychester Avenue station is a station on the IRT Dyre Avenue Line of the New York City Subway, located at the intersection of Baychester and Tillotson Avenues in the Bronx. It is served by the 5 train at all times.

History

Baychester Avenue opened on May 29, 1912 as a local 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.[3]

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.[4]: 59–60  On May 15, 1941, a shuttle service was implemented between Dyre Avenue and East 180th Street using IRT gate cars.[5][6] 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.[7][8]

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 Baychester Avenue 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%, owing to the development of the northeast Bronx.[9][10]

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.[11][12][13] The line is still operated as a shuttle late nights.[14]

The northbound platform was closed between September 9, 1991 and June 15, 1992 so that it could be rehabilitated. The platform was supposed to reopen in May. As part of the project, the station received an improved electrical system, new lighting, reinforced concrete platforms, a new canopy, a new drainage system, new graphics on windscreens and new handrails.[15][16]

Station layout

Platform level	Side platform
	Northbound local	← toward Eastchester–Dyre Avenue (Terminus)
	Northbound express	→ Trackbed
	Southbound express	→ No regular service
	Southbound local	→ toward Flatbush Avenue–Brooklyn College weekdays, Bowling Green evenings/weekends (Gun Hill Road) → → late night shuttle toward East 180th Street (Gun Hill Road) →
	Side platform
Mezzanine	Mezzanine	Fare control, station agent, MetroCard vending machines
Ground	Street level	Entrances/exits

The station has two side platforms and three tracks with space for a fourth. It is on an embankment with a cut in the embankment for the street to run below (Baychester Avenue). The station, served by the 5 train at all times,[14] is between Gun Hill Road to the south and Eastchester–Dyre Avenue to the north.[17]

Exit

The station house is on street level below the platforms and tracks on their extreme north end. A staircase from each platform goes down to an underpass, where on the Dyre Avenue-bound side, a single exit-only turnstile leads to a set of doors to the streets. The main fare control area is on the Manhattan-bound side. It has a set of doors to the underpass, another to the platform stairs, a turnstile bank, token booth, and doors to the streets.[18]

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. "Westchester Line Passes with 1937". The New York Times. January 1, 1938. p. 36. Retrieved October 4, 2011.
4. Cudahy, Brian J. (2003). A Century of Subways: Celebrating 100 Years of New York's Underground Railways. New York: Fordham University Press. ISBN 9780823222957.
5. "Rail Line is Added to Subway System". The New York Times. May 16, 1941. p. 25. Retrieved October 4, 2011.
6. "Transit Record for 1940-1941". Photobucket. March 1942. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
7. "Subway Trains Run to Dyre Avenue: Through Service Replacing Shuttle for Part of Each Day on Bronx Line" (PDF). New York Times. May 7, 1957. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
8. "IRT Spur Opens Today: Dyre Avenue Line in Bronx Will Have Five Stations" (PDF). New York Times. May 6, 1957. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
9. "For Release: Tuesday, Feb. 27, 1962 #238" (PDF). New York City Transit Authority. February 27, 1962. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 22, 2020. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
10. "IRT Improvements Set: $700,000 Contract Awarded for Work on Dyre Ave. Line" (PDF). New York Times. February 28, 1962. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
11. "New Routes Scheduled for 2 IRT Lines in Bronx" (PDF). New York Times. March 22, 1965. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
12. "Better Subway Service For Bronx IRT Riders Starting Sunday, April 18". Photobucket. New York City Transit Authority. April 1965. Retrieved August 31, 2016.
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. "5 Subway Timetable, Effective December 15, 2024". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
15. "Attention Bronx 5 Subway Riders: Uptown Trains Will Not Stop at Baychester Avenue Station. September 9 to May 1992". New York Daily News. September 6, 1991. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
16. "Attention 5 Customers: Beginning June 15, 1992: Baychester Avenue Station Dyre Av-bound platform reopens". New York Daily News. June 12, 1992. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
17. "Subway Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. September 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
18. "Baychester Avenue Neighborhood Map" (PDF). new.mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. April 2018. Retrieved February 28, 2019.

External links

• nycsubway.org – IRT White Plains Road Line: Baychester Avenue
• Station Reporter — 5 Train
• The Subway Nut — Baychester Avenue Pictures Archived 2011-11-18 at the Wayback Machine
• New York, Westchester and Boston Railway - Baychester Avenue Station
• Baychester Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Platforms from Google Maps Street View