Harlem–125th Street (Metro-North station)

Harlem–125th Street
View from inbound train as an outbound New Haven Line train departs.
Location	101 East 125th Street and 1818 Park Avenue East Harlem, New York, NY 10035
Coordinates	40°48′19″N 73°56′20″W / 40.8052°N 73.9390°W / 40.8052; -73.9390Coordinates: 40°48′19″N 73°56′20″W / 40.8052°N 73.9390°W / 40.8052; -73.9390
Owned by	Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Line(s)	Harlem Line   Hudson Line   New Haven Line   New Canaan Branch   Danbury Branch   Waterbury Branch
Platforms	2 island platforms
Tracks	4
Connections	New York City Subway:   trains at Lexington Avenue NYCT Bus: M1 (NB), M35, M60 SBS to LGA, M98, M100, M101, Bx15
Construction
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Fare zone	1
History
Opened	1896
Electrified	700V (DC) third rail
Services
Preceding station   Metro-North Railroad   Following station Grand Central Terminus Harlem Line Melrose toward Wassaic Hudson Line Yankees – East 153rd Street toward Poughkeepsie New Haven Line Fordham toward  New Canaan Branch Stamford toward New Canaan Danbury Branch (limited) Greenwich toward Danbury Waterbury Branch (limited) Stamford toward Waterbury   Former services   New York Central Railroad 138th Street toward Chicago Water Level Route New York City Terminus 138th Street toward Peekskill Hudson Division New York City Terminus Harlem Division 138th Street toward Chatham

Harlem–125th Street is a Metro-North Railroad commuter rail hub station in New York City. It is located in East Harlem, Manhattan, at East 125th Street and Park Avenue, serving the Hudson Line, Harlem Line and New Haven Line. The station also serves as an important transfer point between the Metro-North trains and the IRT Lexington Avenue Line (4 5 6 <6> trains) for access to the Upper East Side of Manhattan. It is the only station besides Grand Central Terminal that serves all three lines east of the Hudson River. Trains leave for Grand Central Terminal, as well as to the Bronx and the northern suburbs, regularly.

History

Station in 1876

The station was built in 1896–97 and designed by Morgan O'Brien, New York Central and Hudson River Railroad principal architect. It replaced an earlier one that was built in 1874 when the New York Central and the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad, the ancestors of today's Metro-North, moved the tracks from an open cut to the present-day elevated viaduct. The original station on the site was built in 1844, when the trains ran at grade-level on what is now Park Avenue. That station was demolished to make way for the open cut.

As with many NYCRR stations in New York City, the station became a Penn Central station once the NYC & Pennsylvania Railroads merged in 1968. The New Haven Line and its branches would be acquired by Penn Central a year later, thus making it a full Penn Central station. Penn Central's continuous financial despair throughout the 1970s forced them to turn over their commuter service to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The station and the railroad were turned over to Conrail in 1976, and eventually became part of the MTA's Metro-North Railroad in 1983. After the 138th Street in the Mott Haven section of the South Bronx was closed by Penn Central in 1972, 125th Street Station was the northernmost station to be shared by the Hudson and Harlem Lines.

A six-year-long renovation of the 1897 structure was completed in 1999 and cleared out a century's worth of neglect and deterioration.^[1] The entire Park Avenue viaduct was replaced piece-by-piece without disturbing Metro-North service for the duration of the renovation. This reconstruction included the removal of the Nick Tower just south of the station. The Nick Tower was a control tower mounted over the tracks spanning the entire right-of-way.^[2] The renovation is considered a replication, rather than renovation, of the original 1930s version of the station being that none of the original structure is visible to the public.

Use

The station is used for travel to and from suburbs north of New York City and the Bronx rather than travel to and from Grand Central Terminal. Except for off-peak local trains on the Harlem and Hudson Lines, northbound trains stop at the station only to receive passengers while southbound trains stop only to discharge passengers. It is in the same fare zone as Grand Central Terminal, so customers pay the same fare whether traveling to Harlem or Grand Central, and may use either station.

Platforms and tracks

There are two high-level island platforms, each serving two tracks. During midday, evenings, and weekends, passengers wait on the eastern platform for trains departing from Tracks 1 and 3 and exit on the western platform from trains arriving on Tracks 2 and 4. During rush hours three tracks are typically assigned to the peak direction (southbound in the morning, northbound in the evening).

Future development

The station's former New York Central Railroad comfort station across 125th Street, which has been abandoned for a long time.

The south side of 125th Street below the station viaduct houses a long-abandoned former comfort station (restroom facility) and the block has long been a vacant lot attracting garbage.^[3] The New York City Economic Development Corporation announced in 2013 that they would work with a mix of public agencies and private developers to improve the area surrounding the station, long considered a blight on East 125th Street.^[4]

Ridership at Harlem–125th Street station rose 55% between 2002 and 2013, much of which included reverse commuters—city residents accessing jobs in the suburbs.

Phase II of the Second Avenue Subway is currently slated to end below the Metro-North station, with the subway tracks heading east below 125th Street.^[5] The line would be built deep below the ground, below the Lexington Avenue Line.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Harlem – 125th Street (Metro-North station).

• Metro-North Railroad – Harlem–125th Street
• Upcoming northbound train departure times and track assignments from MTA
• Abandoned Stations: Harlem
• 125th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Station House on 125th Street from Google Maps Street View
• Platforms from Google Maps Street View