Parkchester station

StructureElevatedPlatforms2 island platforms
cross-platform interchangeTracks3Other informationOpenedMay 30, 1920; 104 years ago (1920-05-30)^[3]Accessiblenot ADA-accessible; accessibility plannedOpposite-
direction
transferYesFormer/other namesParkchester–East 177th Street
East 177th Street–Parkchester
East 177th StreetTraffic20233,295,956^[4]  17.3% Rank99 out of 423^[4]

Services
Preceding station New York City Subway Following station Castle Hill Avenue 6  <6> ​ toward Pelham Bay Park Express Hunts Point Avenue <6> toward Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall Local St. Lawrence Avenue 6  toward Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall

Non-revenue services and lines
Preceding station New York City Subway Following station Pelham Bay Park express no service

Location
Show map of New York City Subway Show map of New York City Show map of New York

Track layout
Legend to Pelham Bay Park to Castle Hill Avenue to St. Lawrence Avenue to Hunts Point Avenue

Street map

Station service legend
Symbol	Description
	Stops all times except rush hours in the peak direction
	Stops all times
	Stops rush hours in the peak direction only

The Parkchester station is an express station on the IRT Pelham Line of the New York City Subway. It is located above Hugh J. Grant Circle in the Parkchester neighborhood of the Bronx, where East 177th Street (the Cross Bronx Expressway service road), Metropolitan Avenue, and Westchester Avenue intersect. The station is served by the 6 train at all times and the <6> train during weekdays in the peak direction.

By passenger count, Parkchester was the third-busiest station in the Bronx in 2017, behind 161st Street–Yankee Stadium and Third Avenue–149th Street, and the busiest station on the Pelham Line.

History

Parkchester station opened on May 30, 1920.^[3]

This station was rehabilitated in 2010.

In 2019, as part of an initiative to increase the accessibility of the New York City Subway system, the MTA announced that it would install elevators at the Parkchester station as part of the MTA's 2020–2024 Capital Program.^[5] In December 2022, the MTA announced that it would award a $146 million contract for the installation of eight elevators across four stations, including Parkchester. The work would include demolishing an existing escalator to make way for an elevator.^[6]

Station layout

P Platform level	Southbound local	← toward Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall (St. Lawrence Avenue)
	Island platform
	Peak-direction express	← AM rush toward Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall (Hunts Point Avenue) → PM rush toward Pelham Bay Park (Castle Hill Avenue) → →(No service: Pelham Bay Park) →
	Island platform
	Northbound local	→ PM rush termination track → → toward Pelham Bay Park other times (Castle Hill Avenue) →
M	Mezzanine	Station agent, MetroCard vending machines, fare control
G	Street level	Exit/entrance

Parkchester is an express station with three tracks and two island platforms. The 6 stops on the outer local tracks while the <6> stops on the center express track. The 6 train serves the station at all times, and the <6> runs during weekdays in the peak direction.^[7] The next stop to the south is Hunts Point Avenue for express trains and St. Lawrence Avenue for local trains, while the next stop to the north is Castle Hill Avenue.^[8] There are 1950s-style mushroom-shaped lights at the end of the platforms and the staircases to the mezzanine are sheltered. Just north of the station is a signal tower which was used until the late 1990s, when a new master tower was created in Westchester Yard.

During weekdays, some 6 local trains terminate at Parkchester. All local trains end their runs at Parkchester during the PM rush hour, when the <6> express operates, while selected local trains terminate there during the AM rush hour and the evening.^[7] After discharging passengers on the northbound local track, terminating trains use the center track past switches north of the station as a pocket track to relay.

All trains continuing on the IRT Pelham Line north of this station make all subsequent stops, these stations are only served by the <6> in the peak direction when it is operating, and the 6 at all other times.

Exit

The station's only exit is a mezzanine in the center of the Hugh Grant Circle, a traffic circle. It has a crossunder and windows in a simulated 12-pane pattern similar to those at Whitlock Avenue. The fare control is at street level and the room features a painting entitled Live The Dream. There is an escalator from fare control to the southbound platform, bypassing the mezzanine.^[9]

Image gallery

• 
  Entrance to Parkchester station
• 
  The lampposts at the station, which still read "E 177 ST"
• 
  Facing a sunset on the northbound local track
• 
  An R142A 6 local train approaching Parkchester

References

External links

• nycsubway.org – IRT Pelham Line: East 177th Street/Parkchester
• nycsubway.org — Live the Dream Artwork (Artist and date unknown)
• Station Reporter — 6 Train
• Map of Bronx Subways
• The Subway Nut — Parkchester – East 177th Street Pictures Archived July 6, 2020, at the Wayback Machine
• Hugh Grant Circle (west) entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Hugh Grant Circle (east) entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Platforms from Google Maps Street View