IRT Jerome Avenue Line

IRT Jerome Avenue Line
The 4 train serves the entire IRT Jerome Avenue Line at all times. One station is also served by the 5 train.
Overview
Type	Rapid transit
System	New York City Subway
Termini	Woodlawn 138th Street – Grand Concourse
Stations	14
Daily ridership	242,460[1]
Operation
Opened	1917–1918
Owner	City of New York
Operator(s)	New York City Transit Authority
Character	Underground (South of Yankee Stadium) Elevated (Most of The Bronx)
Technical
Number of tracks	2-3
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Electrification	600V DC third rail

IRT Jerome Avenue Line
Legend
IND Concourse Line Woodlawn Mosholu Parkway Jerome Yard Concourse Yard Bedford Park Boulevard – Lehman College IND Concourse Line Kingsbridge Road Fordham Road 183rd Street Burnside Avenue 176th Street Mount Eden Avenue 170th Street 167th Street former IRT Ninth Avenue Line 161st Street – Yankee Stadium IND Concourse Line IRT White Plains Road Line 149th Street – Grand Concourse IRT White Plains Road Line 138th Street – Grand Concourse IRT Pelham Line Lexington Avenue Tunnel under Harlem River IRT Lexington Avenue Line

The IRT Jerome Avenue Line, also unofficially known as IRT Woodlawn Line, is an A Division New York City Subway line mostly along Jerome Avenue in the Bronx. Originally an Interborough Rapid Transit Company-operated route, it was built as part of the Dual Contracts expansion and opened in 1917 and 1918. It is both elevated and underground with 161st Street–Yankee Stadium being the southernmost elevated station. The line has three tracks from south of the Woodlawn station to the 138th Street–Grand Concourse station. The Woodlawn Line also has a connection to the Jerome Yard, where 4 trains are stored, just north of the Bedford Park Boulevard–Lehman College station.

Extent and service

Service patterns

The Jerome Avenue Line is served locally by the 4 train at all times, except for the 138th Street – Grand Concourse station, which the 4 serves all times except rush hours in the peak direction, and the 5 at all times except late nights.

As part of a pilot program to evaluate express service on the line, from June 8, 2009 to June 26, 2009, the MTA operated four trains southbound on the express track between 7:15 AM and 8:00 AM. The trains stopped at Woodlawn, Mosholu Parkway, Burnside Avenue, and 149th Street – Grand Concourse, then continued down the normal route.^[2] From October 26, 2009, to December 11, 2009, another pilot program to run express service ran, this time adding Bedford Park Boulevard – Lehman College as an additional stop. A fifth train had also been added and trains now run every 20 minutes from 7:00am to 8:20am.^[3]

During evening rush hours, some northbound trains run express from 167th Street to short turn at Burnside Avenue.^[4]

Route description

Though named for Jerome Avenue, the southernmost portion of the line runs underground beneath the Grand Concourse. North of the 149th Street station around the vicinity of Franz Sigel Park, the line curves to the northwest and emerges from a tunnel under Gerard Avenue north of East 153rd Street, and becomes an elevated line over River Avenue just south of the intersection with East 157th Street. Just north of Yankee Stadium station, the line encounters the skeletal remains of the IRT Ninth Avenue elevated line between Gate Number 8 and the east end of the 164th Street Parking Garage, between the intersections of 162nd and 164th Streets. Almost a block after 167th Street station, the line finally runs over the eponymous road when River Avenue ends at Jerome Avenue across from the intersection of West 169th Street.

The line remains over Jerome Avenue for most of the rest of its journey. The north end of the Mount Eden Avenue station can be seen from the Cross Bronx Expressway. After the northwest entrance of the historic Concourse Yard and then north of 198th Street, the road briefly moves east of the line. North of Bedford Park Boulevard station, Jerome Avenue returns under the line and between the intersections with East 205th Street and West 205th Street, a spur for the Jerome Yard branches off to the northwest as well. The IRT Jerome Avenue Line finally ends at Woodlawn station, while Jerome Avenue itself continues north towards the Major Deegan Expressway.

History

For more than two decades, there had been calls to provide transit service to the restidents of the Western Bronx. When the first subway was being planned, a branch of the line to this area was under consideration, but it was not found to be feasible to build such a connection because of financial reasons. The Board of Rapid Transit Commissioners, on June 1, 1905, adopted three rapid transit routes, Numbers 15, 16, and 17, all with the purpose of serving the underserved western area of the borough. Route 15 would have been a four-track subway under Jerome Avenue, with a connection to the Ninth Avenue Elevated through 162nd Street. Route 16 called for a three-track elevated line along Jerome Avenue, extending from Clarke Place north to Woodlawn Road. Route 17 would have required the construction of a subway line under Gerard Avenue to form the southern connection to the Jerome Avenue Line. Of the three options, Route 15 was approved by the Board of Estimate on July 14, 1905, and by Mayor George McClellan two weeks later.^[5]

On June 16, 1908, the proposal to construct a subway under Gerard Avenue was abandoned because of the soil conditions, which made the project too expensive to be constructed at the time. Instead, the Commission adopted Route 23, known as the River Avenue route, which provided for an elevated railroad and subway connecting the Jerome Avenue elevated line with the Lexington Avenue Line. This route was utilized as part of the Jerome Avenue Line. The route was approved by the Board of Estimate on June 26, 1908, and by the Mayor four days later.^[5]

The Dual Contracts, which were signed on March 19, 1913, were contracts for the construction and/or rehabilitation and operation of rapid transit lines in the City of New York. The contracts were "dual" in that they were signed between the City and two separate private companies (the Interborough Rapid Transit Company and the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company), all working together to make the construction of the Dual Contracts possible. The Dual Contracts promised the construction of several lines in the Bronx. As part of Contract 3, the IRT agreed to build an elevated line along Jerome Avenue in the Bronx.^[6][7][8]

The firs part of the line opened on June 2, 1917 as a shuttle service between Kingsbridge Road and 149th Street. Only the southbound platform was in use at Kingsbridge Road.^[5][9] This was in advance of through service to the IRT Lexington Avenue Line, which began on July 17, 1918. The line was extended from Kingsbridge Road to Woodlawn on April 15, 1918.^[10] The construction of the line encouraged development along Jerome Avenue, and led to the growth of the surrounding communities.^[5]

The Jerome Avenue line cost approximately $7,000,000, with $3,000,000 spent on the elevated section and $4,000,000 spent on the underground section.^[11]

In 1918, the Ninth Avenue elevated was extended from the Polo Grounds terminal, entering the Bronx via the Putnam Bridge, a now-demolished swing bridge immediately north of the Macombs Dam Bridge, to connect with the Jerome Avenue line between 161st Street and 167th Street. After the lower portion of the Ninth Avenue Line closed on June 12, 1940, a shuttle continued to operate to the Polo Grounds until after the New York Giants moved to San Francisco. The shuttle closed on August 31, 1958.

Station listing

Station service legend
	Stops all times
	Stops all times except late nights
	Stops all times except rush hours in the peak direction
	Stops rush hours only
	Stops rush hours in the peak direction only
Time period details

Neighborhood (approximate)		Station	Tracks	Services	Opened	Transfers and notes
Bronx
Norwood		Woodlawn		4	April 15, 1918[10]	Terminal
	Center Express track begins (No Regular Service to 149th Street–Grand Concourse)
		Mosholu Parkway	local	4	April 15, 1918[10]
connecting tracks to Jerome Yard
Bedford Park		Bedford Park Boulevard–Lehman College	local	4	April 15, 1918[10]
connecting track to Concourse Yard
Kingsbridge Heights		Kingsbridge Road	local	4	June 2, 1917[12]
University Heights		Fordham Road	local	4	June 2, 1917[12]	Bx12 Select Bus Service
		183rd Street	local	4	June 2, 1917[12]
Morris Heights		Burnside Avenue	all	4	June 2, 1917[12]
		176th Street	local	4	June 2, 1917[12]
Highbridge		Mount Eden Avenue	local	4	June 2, 1917[12]
		170th Street	local	4	June 2, 1917[12]
		167th Street	local	4	June 2, 1917[12]
		161st Street–Yankee Stadium	local	4	June 2, 1917[12]	B  D  (IND Concourse Line) Connection to Metro-North Railroad's Hudson Line at Yankees–East 153rd Street
4  service switches to/from center express track
Mott Haven		149th Street–Grand Concourse	all	4	June 2, 1917[12]	2  5  (IRT White Plains Road Line)
	Branch from IRT White Plains Road Line joins (5 )
		138th Street–Grand Concourse	local	4  5	July 17, 1918	Originally named Mott Haven Avenue
	Center Express track ends
Continues as IRT Lexington Avenue Line (4  5 )

References

External links

Route map: Bing / Google

Wikimedia Commons has media related to IRT Jerome Avenue Line.

• nycsubway.org: IRT Woodlawn/Jerome Avenue Line

New York City Subway
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