West Farms Square–East Tremont Avenue station

West Farms Square–
East Tremont Avenue
West Farms Square–; East Tremont Avenue
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
	View from the southbound platform, looking north
Station statistics
Address	East Tremont Avenue & Boston Road; Bronx, New York
Borough	The Bronx
Locale	West Farms
Coordinates	40°50′N 73°53′W / 40.84°N 73.88°W
Division	A (IRT)
Line	IRT White Plains Road Line
Services	2 (all times); 5 (all times except rush hours in the peak direction and late nights)
Transit	NYCT Bus: Bx9, Bx21, Bx36, Q44 SBS
Structure	Elevated
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	3
Other information
Opened	November 26, 1904; 120 years ago
Opposite-; direction; transfer	Yes
Former/other names	177th Street
Traffic
2023	997,755 9.7%
Rank	293 out of 423
Services
Services
Non-revenue services and lines
Non-revenue services and lines
Location
Track layout
	Legend
	trackways to former
	180th Street–Bronx Park
	to East 180th Street
Street map
Station service legend
Symbol	Description
	Stops all times
	Stops all times except rush hours in the peak direction

The West Farms Square–East Tremont Avenue station (formerly the 177th Street station)^[3] is a local station on the IRT White Plains Road Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of East Tremont Avenue and Boston Road in the West Farms neighborhood of the Bronx, it is served by the 2 train at all times, and the 5 train at all times except late nights and rush hours in the peak direction.

History

The initial segment of the IRT White Plains Road Line opened on November 26, 1904 between 180th Street–Bronx Park and Jackson Avenue. Initially, trains on the line were served by elevated trains from the IRT Second Avenue Line and the IRT Third Avenue Line. Once the connection to the IRT Lenox Avenue Line opened on July 10, 1905, trains from the newly opened IRT subway ran via the line.^[4]^[5]^[6]

In Fiscal Year 1909, the installation of an escalator at the station was authorized.^[7]

To address overcrowding, in 1909, the New York Public Service Commission proposed lengthening the platforms at stations along the original IRT subway.^[8]^: 168 As part of a modification to the IRT's construction contracts made on January 18, 1910, the company was to lengthen station platforms to accommodate ten-car express and six-car local trains. In addition to $1.5 million (equivalent to $49.1 million in 2023) spent on platform lengthening, $500,000 (equivalent to $16.4 million in 2023) was spent on building additional entrances and exits. It was anticipated that these improvements would increase capacity by 25 percent.^[9]^: 15 The northbound platform at the 177th Street station was extended 150 feet (46 m) to the rear,^[9]^: 114 while the southbound platform was not lengthened.^[9]^: 106 On January 23, 1911, ten-car express trains began running on the White Plains Road Line.^[8]^: 168^[10]

The New York State Transit Commission announced plans to extend the southbound platforms at seven stations on the line from Jackson Avenue to 177th Street to accommodate ten-car trains for $81,900 on August 8, 1934. The platform at 177th Street would be lengthened from 351 feet (107 m) to 493 feet (150 m).^[11]

The city government took over the IRT's operations on June 12, 1940.^[12]^[13] The Bergen Avenue cutoff, which allowed Third Avenue trains to access the White Plains Road Line, was abandoned on November 5, 1946, as part of the gradual curtailment of elevated service on the IRT Third Avenue Line.^[3] On June 13, 1949, the platform extensions at this station, as well as those on White Plains Road Line stations south to Jackson Avenue, opened. The platforms were lengthened to 514 feet (157 m) to allow full ten-car express trains to open their doors. Previously the stations could only accommodate six-car local trains.^[14]

On November 1, 1951, a contract for the construction of a mezzanine was awarded to Amdor Structures Incorporated. The mezzanine connected the subway station with a new escalator in Boston Road near the Bronx Zoo.^[15]

Station layout

Platform level	Side platform
	Northbound local	← toward Wakefield–241st Street (East 180th Street) ← toward Eastchester–Dyre Avenue (East 180th Street)
	Peak-direction express	← PM rush does not stop here ← AM rush does not stop here →
	Southbound local	← toward Flatbush Avenue–Brooklyn College via Seventh (174th Street) → ← toward Flatbush Avenue–Brooklyn College via Lexington weekdays, Bowling Green evenings/weekends (174th Street) →
	Side platform
Mezzanine		Fare control, station agent, MetroCard machines
Ground	Street level	Exit/entrance

This elevated station, situated on a high curve, one of the highest elevations on the line, has three tracks and two side platforms. The center track is used by the 5 train during rush hours in peak direction. The northbound platform is longer than the southbound one and can fit about 12 cars.^[3]^[16]

Both platforms have beige windscreens with green frames and outlines and green canopies with red roofs on their northern half and gray, waist-high, steel fences with lampposts at regular intervals on their southern half. The station name signs are in the standard black name plate in white lettering.^[16]

The 2004 artwork here is called Animal Tracks by Naomi Andrée Campbell. It consists of 450 square feet (42 m²) in 13 faceted glass murals on the platform windscreens depicting images related to the Bronx Zoo, which is several blocks to the north.^[17]^[18]

Just north of the station are the abandoned trackways to 180th Street–Bronx Park, the original terminal of the White Plains Road Line.^[3]^[19]

Exits

This station has two elevated station houses below the platforms and tracks. The full-time one is at the center. Two staircases from each platform go down to a crossunder, where doors lead to a waiting area.^[3] Outside the turnstile bank that provides access to and from the station, there is a token booth, two staircases going down to the northeast corner of East Tremont Avenue and Boston Road, and one staircase and one enclosed escalator going down to the northwest corner.^[20] The station's other station house at the north end is unstaffed, containing one staircase from the northwest corner of East 178th Street and Boston Road, a set of High Entry-Exit Turnstiles, and two staircases to each platform.^[20]^[21]

References

^ "Glossary". Second Avenue Subway Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS) (PDF). Vol. 1. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. March 4, 2003. pp. 1–2. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 26, 2021. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
^ ^a ^b "Annual Subway Ridership (2018–2023)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "IRT Map - Official Railway Guide, November 1906". Archived from the original on September 15, 2019. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
^ "Discuss Subway Signs in 18th St. Station" (PDF). The New York Times. November 27, 1904. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 24, 2020.
^ Kahn, Alan Paul (January 1, 1973). Tracks of New York /. New York : Electric Railroaders' Association.
^ "Subway Trains Running From Bronx to Battery" (PDF). The New York Times. July 10, 1905. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 24, 2020. Retrieved September 4, 2016.
^ 1908-1909 Annual Report of the Interborough Rapid Transit Company for the Year Ended June 30, 1909. Interborough Rapid Transit Company. 1909. p. 13. Archived from the original on April 22, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
^ ^a ^b Hood, Clifton (1978). "The Impact of the IRT in New York City" (PDF). Historic American Engineering Record. pp. 146–207 (PDF pp. 147–208). Archived (PDF) from the original on January 17, 2021. Retrieved December 20, 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
^ ^a ^b ^c Report of the Public Service Commission for the First District of the State of New York For The Year Ending December 31, 1910. Public Service Commission. 1911. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
^ "Ten-car Trains in Subway to-day; New Service Begins on Lenox Av. Line and Will Be Extended to Broadway To-morrow". The New York Times. January 23, 1911. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on April 5, 2018. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
^ "I.R.T. To Extend Stations. Platform Changes to Be Made on White Plains Line". The New York Times. August 9, 1934. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 8, 2021. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
^ "City Transit Unity Is Now a Reality; Title to I.R.T. Lines Passes to Municipality, Ending 19-Year Campaign". The New York Times. June 13, 1940. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 7, 2022. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
^ "Transit Unification Completed As City Takes Over I. R. T. Lines: Systems Come Under Single Control After Efforts Begun in 1921; Mayor Is Jubilant at City Hall Ceremony Recalling 1904 Celebration". New York Herald Tribune. June 13, 1940. p. 25. ProQuest 1248134780.
^ Report for the three and one-half years ending June 30, 1949. New York City Board of Transportation. 1949. hdl:2027/mdp.39015023094926.
^ "Station Contract Let" (PDF). The New York Times. November 2, 1951. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on August 2, 2022. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
^ ^a ^b "West Farms Square-East Tremont Avenue (2,5)-The SubwayNut". www.subwaynut.com. Archived from the original on December 31, 2011. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
^ "Artwork: Animal Tracks (Naomi Campbell)". www.nycsubway.org. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
^ "MTA Arts & Design - NAOMI CAMPBELL - Animal Tracks, 2004". web.mta.info. Archived from the original on March 25, 2020. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
^ "IRT White Plains Road Line". www.nycsubway.org. Archived from the original on May 14, 2021. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
^ ^a ^b "MTA Neighborhood Maps: Bronx Zoo" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 11, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
^ "IRT White Plains Road Line - Photos". www.nycsubway.org. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved February 21, 2016.