The White Plains Road Line (sometimes referred to as WPR Line) is a rapid transit line of the IRT division of the New York City Subway serving the central Bronx. It is mostly elevated and served both subway and elevated trains until 1952. It is currently being used by the 2 as the local at all times and the 5 as the local at all times except rush hours in peak direction (when it runs express between East 180th Street and Third Avenue – 149th Street) and late nights (when it runs as a shuttle between Eastchester – Dyre Avenue and East 180th Street).
Extent and service[]
The following services use part or all of the White Plains Road Line:
| Route | Services | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time period | West of 149 St |
Between 149 St and E 180 St |
E 180 St | Between E 180 St and Nereid Ave |
241 St | |
| 2 | ||||||
| 5 | ||||||
(except nights) |
||||||
The IRT White Plains Road Line begins at the Wakefield – 241st Street terminal, with two tracks, one island platform, and two closed side platforms. Crossovers just south of the station take trains to the correct tracks and a center express track comes out of those crossovers. Between Wakefield – 241st Street and Nereid Avenue, a connection comes in from the 239th Street Yard.
Just north of Gun Hill Road, the IRT Third Avenue Line splits from the local tracks (with crossovers to the express tracks just to the north). The line goes to a lower level of Gun Hill Road and then turns west. This connection is used to allow 8 trains to access the 239th Street Yard.
The IRT Dyre Avenue Line merges to the local tracks just north of East 180th Street, and then crossovers allow those trains to reach the express tracks. The 5 late-night Dyre Avenue Shuttle uses the center track to end its run, and rush hour 5 trains in the peak direction change to the express track here. On the west side of this junction is the East 180th Street Yard while the Unionport Yard is to the east.
The now-gone three-track Bronx Park Spur merged from the west after East 180th Street with one track into each of the mainline tracks. Just after this on the east side was a connection to the West Farms Yard, also gone.
The express track ends north of Third Avenue – 149th Street, and from there to the end the line has two tracks. Formerly in that area there was a connection just to the north to the local tracks of the IRT Third Avenue Line, and a connection to the south, bypassing 149th Street on the Third Avenue Line. These connections ended in 1955 when elevated Third Avenue service in Manhattan ended. Just past those former connections, the White Plains Road Line goes underground.
Just after 149th Street – Grand Concourse, the tracks split off and the two currently used by the 5 train turn south to merge with the local tracks of the IRT Jerome Avenue Line. The other tracks, currently used by the 2 train, pass under the Harlem River via the 149th Street Tunnel and end at the 135th Street Junction, connecting to the IRT Lenox Avenue Line.
History[]
The part of the line from the IRT Lenox Avenue Line to 180th Street – Bronx Park was built as part of Contract 1. Service on the IRT White Plains Road Line was extended from East 177th Street – East Tremont Avenue to East 219th Street – White Plains Road beginning on March 3, 1917. Service on the new portion of the line was operated as a four-car shuttle from 177th Street due to the power conditions at the time. Service was extended to East 238th Street on March 31, 1917. The part of the line from the S-curve north of West Farms Square – East Tremont Avenue to the terminal at 241st Street was built as a part of the Dual Contracts.
A 1929 proposal included a spur off the line that would have run from Van Nest to Baychester. The spur was to begin near Garfield Street as an elevated line then run underground beneath Morris Park Avenue and Wilson Avenue, finally terminating at Boston Road. This proposal was never carried out, however the IRT acquired the former New York, Westchester and Boston Railway right-of-way to create the IRT Dyre Avenue Line instead.
On April 23, 1953, express service began on the White Plains Road line; it skipped all stops between East 180th Street and Third Avenue – 149th Street.
In 1956, 180th Street – Bronx Park was closed and was demolished. Former trackways of this station can still be seen north of the current West Farms Square – East Tremont Avenue Station.
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. Night service would continue to be operated by a shuttle. Through service was operated by Seventh Avenue express trains between 5:30 AM and 8:30 PM. Between 8:30 and 1:15 shuttle trains operated from East 180th Street to Dyre Avenue, and in the early morning hours no trains operated over the line.
Due to rehabilitation of East 180th Street and signal replacements along the line, rush hour peak direction 5 express service was suspended from March 29 to September 3, 2010. PM northbound express service was suspended again on March 28, 2011 to allow for the second phase of the signal replacement project. Normal service was restored on August 8, 2011.
Stations[]
- Wakefield-241st Street
- Nereid Avenue-238th Street
- 233rd Street
- 225th Street
- 219th Street
- Gun Hill Road
- Burke Avenue
- Allerton Avenue
- Pelham Parkway
- Bronx Park East
- East 180th Street
- West Farms Square-East Tremont Avenue
- 174th Street
- Freeman Street
- Simpson Street
- Intervale Avenue
- Prospect Avenue
- Jackson Avenue
- Third Avenue-149th Street
- 149 Street-Grand Concourse