The 125th Street station is an express
station on the
IND Eighth Avenue Line
The IND Eighth Avenue Line is a rapid transit line in New York City, United States, and is part of the B Division of the New York City Subway. Opened in 1932, it was the first line of the Independent Subway System (IND), and the ''Eighth Avenu ...
of the
New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October 2 ...
. Located at the intersection of
125th Street and
St. Nicholas Avenue in the
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...
neighborhood of
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
, it is served by the
A and
D trains at all times, by the
C train at all times except late nights, and by the
B train on weekdays.
Nearby landmarks and points of interest include the
Apollo Theater
The Apollo Theater is a music hall at 253 West 125th Street between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard (Seventh Avenue) and Frederick Douglass Boulevard (Eighth Avenue) in the Harlem neighborhood of Upper Manhattan in New York City. It is a not ...
and the
Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine
The Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine (TouroCOM) is a private medical school with a main campus in the neighborhood of Central Harlem in New York City and an additional campus in Middletown, New York. It is a division of Touro College and ...
.
History
The station opened on September 10, 1932, as part of the city-operated
Independent Subway System
The Independent Subway System (IND or ISS), formerly known as the Independent City-Owned Subway System (ICOSS) or the Independent City-Owned Rapid Transit Railroad (ICORTR), was a rapid transit rail system in New York City that is now part of th ...
(IND)'s initial segment, the
Eighth Avenue Line between
Chambers Street and
207th Street.
Construction of the whole line cost $191.2 million (equivalent to $ million in . While the
IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line
The IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line (also known as the IRT Seventh Avenue Line or the IRT West Side Line) is a New York City Subway line. It is one of several lines that serves the A Division, stretching from South Ferry in Lower Manhatta ...
already provided parallel service, the new Eighth Avenue subway via Central Park West and Frederick Douglass Boulevard provided an alternative route.
In 1981, the
MTA listed the station among the 69 most deteriorated stations in the subway system. The station was renovated in the 1980s, during which two stairs to each platform at the north end were removed and the platforms' original white floor tiling was replaced.
The station was damaged in a water main break in 1989. Another renovation later restored the closed staircases and made the station
ADA-accessible
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or ADA () is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, ...
with the installation of elevators near the middle of the platforms.
On June 27, 2017, a southbound
A train derailed just north of the station. This derailment, caused by improperly secured replacement rails, left 34 passengers injured.
Station layout
The outer track wall tiles have a Prussian green trim line with a black border with small "125" signs in white lettering on a black background beneath it. Both platforms have one line of green I-beam columns that run at regular intervals for their entire length except for a small section at either ends. Every other column has the standard black station name plate in white lettering.
The station has a
mezzanine
A mezzanine (; or in Italian language, Italian, a ''mezzanino'') is an intermediate floor in a building which is partly open to the double-height ceilinged floor below, or which does not extend over the whole floorspace of the building, a loft ...
above the tracks at the Southern end and platforms that connect both
fare control
In rail transport, the paid area is a dedicated "inner" zone in a railway station or metro station, accessible via turnstiles or other barriers, to get into which, visitors or passengers require a valid ticket, checked smartcard or a pass. A sys ...
areas at either ends. There are five staircases to each platform and large-scale photos of Harlem in the 1920s and 1930s.
The next express station to the south,
59th Street–Columbus Circle, is 3.35 miles (5.391 km) away with seven local stations in between, which is the longest distance between two express stops in the system.
Exits
The full-time fare control area is at the south end of the mezzanine, serving the 125th Street exits, and has a
turnstile
A turnstile (also called a turnpike, gateline, baffle gate, automated gate, turn gate in some regions) is a form of gate which allows one person to pass at a time. A turnstile can be configured to enforce one-way human traffic. In addition, a t ...
bank and token booth. It serves the exits at St. Nicholas Avenue and West 125th Street. The other fare control area at the north end, serving the 127th Street exits, is unstaffed, containing
full height turnstiles. There is also evidence of closed exit stairs going up to 126th Street and 124th Street, one on each side of both mezzanines.
[ One of the staircases led directly into the basement of a business that existed at street level.][
* One stair, NW corner of St. Nicholas Avenue and West 125th Street]
* One stair, NE corner of St. Nicholas Avenue and West 125th Street
* One stair and one elevator, SW corner of St. Nicholas Avenue and West 125th Street
* One stair, SE corner of St. Nicholas Avenue and West 125th Street
* One stair, SW corner of St. Nicholas Avenue and West 127th Street
* One stair, SE corner of St. Nicholas Avenue and West 127th Street
References
External links
*
* Station Reporter â€
A Lefferts
* Station Reporter â€
* Station Reporter â€
* Station Reporter â€
* Station Reporter â€
* The Subway Nut â€
125th Street Pictures
125th Street entrance at southwest corner from Google Maps Street View
127th Street entrance at southwest corner from Google Maps Street View
Platforms from Google Maps Street View
{{DEFAULTSORT:125th Street (Ind Eighth Avenue Line)
IND Eighth Avenue Line stations
New York City Subway stations in Manhattan
New York City Subway stations located underground
Railway stations in the United States opened in 1932
Harlem
1932 establishments in New York City