The Wakefield–241st Street station (signed as 241st Street) is a terminal station on the IRT White Plains Road Line of the New York City Subway, located at the intersection of 241st Street and White Plains Road in the Wakefield neighborhood of the Bronx.[3] It is served by the 2 train at all times.[4] This station is geographically the northernmost station in the entire New York City Subway system.
History
The station officially opened on December 13, 1920, as East 241st Street, when the final portion of the line was opened. The line had been extended one stop north from East 238th Street.[5] This portion of the line had its opening delayed, owing to construction on the line between the two stations for the construction of the 239th Street Yard. Additional time was required to modify the structure to avoid a grade crossing at the entrance to the yard.[6] The city government took over the IRT's operations on June 12, 1940.[7][8]
The station was renovated from July to December 2005 at a cost of $17.25 million.[9] The station, as part of the renovation, got a new high-quality public address system, new platform edge and ADA tactile warning strips, major structural repairs, new canopies over the stairs and platforms, repaired walls, renewed floors, and a redesign of the area around the station booth.[10][11]
In 2019, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced that this station would become ADA-accessible as part of the agency's 2020–2024 Capital Program.[12] In May 2024, the Federal Transit Administration awarded the MTA $157 million for accessibility renovations at five stations, including Wakefield–241st Street.[13][14][15] The funds would be used to add elevators, signs, and public-announcement systems, as well as repair platforms and stairs, at each station.[15]
Fare control, station agent, MetroCard and OMNY machines
Ground
Street level
Exit/entrance
At this station, there are two tracks, one center island platform and two disused side platforms here. The two tracks end at bumper blocks at the north end of the platforms. The station was formerly set up as a Spanish solution with alighting passengers using the side platforms and boarding passengers using the island platform. Now all passengers use the island platform.[16]
The middle of the platform features a backlit track departure sign labeled Tracks 3 and 2, indicating which train leaves first.[17] There are also crew quarters at platform level.
To the south of the station, the tracks make a connection to the 239th Street Yard before splitting into three tracks.[16] Just three blocks north of the station on White Plains Road lies the border between The Bronx and Westchester.
The 2006 artwork featured at the station is Permanent Residents and Visitors by Alfredo Ceibal, which focuses on birds living in and visiting the city. The artwork is made of faceted glass in the platform windscreens.[18][19]
Exits
The exit is at the north end. Fare control is past the bumper blocks, from where there is one stair to the southwest corner of 241st Street and White Plains Road, and two stairs to the southeast corner.[3]
Names
This terminal station has gone by a number of different names. Becker Avenue was an earlier name for the station at the time of its construction,[20] and it officially opened as East 241st Street on December 13, 1920.[21] By 1984, it was renamed 241st Street on entrances and platform signs.[22]
The station was initially signed on the New York City Subway map as 241st Street–Wakefield. It has been signed on the map under its current name since 1998.
^"Transit Unification Completed As City Takes Over I. R. T. Lines: Systems Come Under Single Control After Efforts Begun in 1921; Mayor Is Jubilant at City Hall Ceremony Recalling 1904 Celebration". New York Herald Tribune. June 13, 1940. p. 25. ProQuest1248134780.
^Barnes, John (July 23, 2006). "Track departure sign". www.nycsubway.org. 241 Street. Archived from the original on August 9, 2016. Retrieved July 6, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
^Panse, Richard (March 20, 2005). "241 Street, before 2005 renovation". www.nycsubway.org. 241 Street: www.nycsubway.org. Archived from the original on August 9, 2016. Retrieved July 6, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
Note: Service variations, station closures, and reroutes are not reflected here. Stations with asterisks have no regular peak, reverse peak, or midday service on that route. See linked articles for more information.
Stations and line segments in italics are closed, demolished, or planned (temporary closures are marked with asterisks). Track connections to other lines' terminals are displayed in brackets. Struck through passenger track connections are closed or unused in regular service.
