168th Street station (New York City Subway)

The 168th Street station (formerly the Washington Heights–168th Street station) is an underground New York City Subway station complex shared by the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line and IND Eighth Avenue Line. It is located at the intersection of 168th Street and Broadway in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan and served by the 1 and A trains at all times, and the C train at all times except late nights. It is the northern terminus for all C trains.

The Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line station was built for the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT), and was a station on the West Side Branch of the city's first subway line, which was approved in 1900. The station opened on April 14, 1906. The Eighth Avenue Line station was built as an express and terminal station for the Independent Subway System (IND) and opened on September 10, 1932, as part of the IND's first segment.

The IRT station has two side platforms and two tracks. The IND station has two island platforms and four tracks, although the track configuration is reversed from most New York City Subway express stations, with express trains using the outer tracks and local trains using the inner tracks. The transfer between the IRT platforms and the IND platforms has been within fare control since July 1, 1948. The IND station contains elevators, which make it compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). While the IRT station can only be reached by elevators, it is not ADA-accessible. The IRT station's interior is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

History

IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line

Construction and opening

Planning for a subway line in New York City dates to 1864, The subway plans were drawn up by a team of engineers led by William Barclay Parsons, the Rapid Transit Commission's chief engineer. It called for a subway line from New York City Hall in lower Manhattan to the Upper West Side, where two branches would lead north into the Bronx. A plan was formally adopted in 1897, under which it would construct the subway and maintain a 50-year operating lease from the opening of the line.

The 168th Street station is an express station on the IND Eighth Avenue Line that has four tracks and two island platforms. The A train stops here at all times, making express stops during the day and local stops during the night; and the C train stops here except at night and always makes local stops. The station is the northern terminus for C trains; the next station to the north is 175th Street for A trains. The next station to the south is 163rd Street–Amsterdam Avenue for local trains and 145th Street for express trains. The tile colors were designed to facilitate navigation for travelers going away from Lower Manhattan. Because 168th Street is the northernmost express station on the Eighth Avenue Line, the color-coded tiles at stations north of 168th Street were originally maroon. This station has a full-length mezzanine above the platforms and tracks. Black I-beam columns run along the platform, alternating ones having the standard black name plate with white lettering.

Gallery

File:R46 C Train @ 168th Street September 2019.jpg|An R46 C train at 168th Street

File:168 Street wall vc.jpg|Deteriorating walls

File:IND Eighth 168th Street Tile Caption.jpg|Close up of tile caption

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Nearby points of interest

Nearby points of interest include NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, Fort Washington Armory, Fort Washington Park on the Hudson River waterfront, and remnants of the Audubon Ballroom.