| Baychester Avenue | |
| Address: | Baychester Avenue & Tillotson Avenue Bronx, NY |
| Borough: | The Bronx |
| Locale: | Eastchester, Baychester |
| Coordinates: | 40.8786°N -73.8384°W |
| Division: | IRT Dyre |
| Line: | IRT Dyre Avenue Line |
| Service: | Dyre |
| Service Header: | Dyre header |
| Platforms: | 2 side platforms |
| Tracks: | 3 (2 in regular service) |
| Structure: | Embankment |
| Open Date: | (NYW&B station) (re-opened as a Subway station) |
| Close Date: | (NYW&B station) |
The Baychester Avenue station is a station on the IRT Dyre Avenue Line of the New York City Subway, located at the intersection of Baychester and Tillotson Avenues in the Bronx. It is served by the 5 train at all times.
Baychester Avenue opened on May 29, 1912 as a local station of the New York, Westchester and Boston Railway (NYW&B). This station was closed on December 12, 1937 when the NYW&B went bankrupt.[1]
The New York City Board of Transportation (BOT) bought the NYW&B within the Bronx north of East 180th Street in April 1940 for $1.8 million and rehabilitated the line. On May 15, 1941, a shuttle service was implemented between Dyre Avenue and East 180th Street using IRT gate cars.[2] [3] The Dyre Avenue Line was connected directly to the White Plains Road Line north of East 180th Street for $3 million and through service began on May 6, 1957.[4] [5]
On February 27, 1962, the New York City Transit Authority announced a $700,000 modernization plan of the Dyre Avenue Line. The plan included the reconstruction of the Dyre Avenue station, and the extension of the platforms of the other four stations on the line, including Baychester Avenue to 525feet to accommodate ten-car trains. At the time, the line was served by 9-car trains during the day, and 3-car shuttles overnight. Between 1954 and 1961, ridership on the line increased by 100%, owing to the development of the northeast Bronx.[6] [7]
On April 18, 1965, IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line trains and IRT Lexington Avenue Line trains swapped their northern routings, with Broadway–Seventh Avenue 2 trains running via the IRT White Plains Road Line to 241st Street, and Lexington Avenue 5 trains running via the Dyre Avenue Line to Dyre Avenue.[8] [9] [10] The line is still operated as a shuttle late nights.
The northbound platform was closed between September 9, 1991 and June 15, 1992 so that it could be rehabilitated. The platform was supposed to reopen in May. As part of the project, the station received an improved electrical system, new lighting, reinforced concrete platforms, a new canopy, a new drainage system, new graphics on windscreens and new handrails.[11] [12]
| Platform level | Side platform | ||
| Northbound local | ← toward (Terminus) | ||
| Northbound express | Trackbed | ||
| Southbound express | No regular service | ||
| Southbound local | toward weekdays, evenings/weekends → late night shuttle toward (Gun Hill Road) → | ||
| Side platform | |||
| Mezzanine | Mezzanine | Fare control, station agent, MetroCard vending machines | |
| Ground | Street level | Entrances/exits |
The station has two side platforms and three tracks with space for a fourth. It is on an embankment with a cut in the embankment for the street to run below (Baychester Avenue). The station, served by the 5 train at all times, is between Gun Hill Road to the south and Eastchester–Dyre Avenue to the north.
The station house is on street level below the platforms and tracks on their extreme north end. A staircase from each platform goes down to an underpass, where on the Dyre Avenue-bound side, a single exit-only turnstile leads to a set of doors to the streets. The main fare control area is on the Manhattan-bound side. It has a set of doors to the underpass, another to the platform stairs, a turnstile bank, token booth, and doors to the streets.[13]
