The Gun Hill Road station is an express
station on the
IRT White Plains Road Line
The White Plains Road Line is a rapid transit line of the A Division of the New York City Subway serving the central Bronx. It is mostly elevated and served both subway and elevated trains until 1952. The original part of the line, the part op ...
of the
New York City Subway. Located in
the Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
at the intersection of
Gun Hill and
White Plains Road
White Plains Road is a major north-south thoroughfare which runs the length of the New York City borough of the Bronx. It runs from Castle Hill and Clason Point in the south to Wakefield in the north, where it crosses the city line and becomes ...
s, it is served by the
2 train at all times and by the
5 train during rush hours in the peak direction; limited a.m. rush hour 5 trains from Manhattan also terminate at this station in the northbound direction only.
History
This station was built under the
Dual Contracts
The Dual Contracts, also known as the Dual Subway System, were contracts for the construction and/or rehabilitation and operation of rapid transit lines in the City of New York. The contracts were signed on March 19, 1913, by the Interborough Ra ...
. It opened on March 3, 1917, as part of an extension of the IRT White Plains Road Line from
East 177th Street–East Tremont Avenue to
East 219th Street–White Plains Road, providing the Bronx communities of
Williamsbridge and
Wakefield
Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...
with access to rapid transit service. Service on the new portion of the line was operated as a four-car shuttle from 177th Street due to the power conditions at the time.
The lower level was used by the
IRT Third Avenue Line
The IRT Third Avenue Line, commonly known as the Third Avenue Elevated, Third Avenue El, or Bronx El, was an elevated railway in Manhattan and the Bronx, New York City. Originally operated by the New York Elevated Railway, an independent railwa ...
from October 4, 1920,
until the line's abandonment on April 29, 1973.
The city government took over the IRT's operations on June 12, 1940.
The station was renovated in 2007 at a cost of $31.68 million.
Station layout
The station was designed as a bi-level station. The upper level has three tracks and two
island platform
An island platform (also center platform, centre platform) is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange. Island platforms are popular on ...
s, while the lower level had two tracks and one wide island platform. North of the station, the lower level tracks rose and joined, making a five track line for a short distance. From west to east, they were as follows: White Plains Road Line southbound local, Third Avenue Line southbound, White Plains Road Line center express, Third Avenue Line northbound, White Plains Road Line northbound local.
Exit
The station's only exit is at a street-level station house at the north side of Gun Hill Road in the median of White Plains Road. The mid-2000s refurbishment removed the Third Avenue el level and upgraded the station with the new station house at street level. The original station house was one short block north at East 211th Street. New escalators and elevators now make this station
ADA-accessible.
References
External links
{{NYCS stations navbox by line, whiteplains=yes
IRT White Plains Road Line stations
IRT Third Avenue Line stations
New York City Subway stations in the Bronx
New York City Subway stations located aboveground
Railway stations in the United States opened in 1917
1917 establishments in New York City
Williamsbridge, Bronx