28th Street station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)

28th Street is a local station on the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of 28th Street and Seventh Avenue in Manhattan, it is served by the 1 train at all times and by the 2 train during late nights.

28 Street
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
Downtown platform
Station statistics
Address	West 28th Street & Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10001
Borough	Manhattan
Locale	Chelsea, Flower District, Midtown[1]
Coordinates	40.747°N 73.993°W
Division	A (IRT)
Line	IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line
Services	1  (all times) ​   2  (late nights)
Transit	NYCT Bus: M7, M20
Structure	Underground
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	4
Other information
Opened	July 1, 1918
Station code	319[2]
Opposite- direction transfer	No
Traffic
2019	4,493,352[3]  1.1%
Rank	108 out of 424[3]
Station succession
Next north	34th Street–Penn Station: 1  ​2
Next south	23rd Street: 1  ​2
Location
Track layout to 34 St to 23 St
Street map
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times Stops late nights only Stops late nights and weekends
West 28th Street Subway Station (Dual System IRT)
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
MPS	New York City Subway System MPS
NRHP reference No.	05000235[4]
Added to NRHP	March 30, 2005

History

Name tablet

Trim line tablet

The Dual Contracts, which were signed on March 19, 1913, were contracts for the construction, 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 (IRT) and the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT), all working together to make the construction of the Dual Contracts possible. The Dual Contracts promised the construction of several lines in Brooklyn. As part of Contract 4, the IRT agreed to build a branch of the original subway line south down Seventh Avenue, Varick Street, and West Broadway to serve the West Side of Manhattan.[5][6][7]

The construction of this line, in conjunction with the construction of the Lexington Avenue Line, would change the operations of the IRT system. Instead of having trains go via Broadway, turning onto 42nd Street, before finally turning onto Park Avenue, there would be two trunk lines connected by the 42nd Street Shuttle. The system would be changed from looking like a "Z" system on a map to an "H" system. One trunk would run via the new Lexington Avenue Line down Park Avenue, and the other trunk would run via the new Seventh Avenue Line up Broadway. In order for the line to continue down Varick Street and West Broadway, these streets needed to be widened, and two new streets were built, the Seventh Avenue Extension and the Varick Street Extension.[8] It was predicted that the subway extension would lead to the growth of the Lower West Side, and to neighborhoods such as Chelsea and Greenwich Village.[9][10]

28th Street opened as the line was extended south to South Ferry from 34th Street–Penn Station on July 1, 1918, and was served by a shuttle.[11] The new "H" system was implemented on August 1, 1918, joining the two halves of the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line and sending all West Side trains south from Times Square.[12] An immediate result of the switch was the need to transfer using the 42nd Street Shuttle in order to retrace the original layout. The completion of the "H" system doubled the capacity of the IRT system.[9]

The station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 30, 2005.[4] The southbound platform's Customer Assistance Booth was removed in 2010.

Station layout

G	Street level	Exit/entrance
P Platform level	Side platform
	Northbound local	← toward 242nd Street (34th Street–Penn Station) ← toward 241st Street late nights (34th Street–Penn Station)
	Northbound express	← do not stop here
	Southbound express	→ do not stop here →
	Southbound local	→ toward South Ferry (23rd Street) → → toward Flatbush Avenue late nights (23rd Street) →
	Side platform

This underground station has four tracks and two side platforms. The two express tracks are used by the 2 and 3 trains during daytime hours. Both platforms have their original mosaic trim line, name tablets, and directional signs. Vent chambers are present and there is a closed newsstand on the northbound platform as evidenced by sealed windows on the walls. Blue I-beam columns run along both platforms at regular intervals with black "28" plate signs in white numbering on every other one.

Southbound stair

Exits

All fare control areas are on platform level and there are no crossovers or crossunders. The main ones are at the centers of the platforms, at 28th Street. On the Bronx-bound platform, a turnstile bank leads to a mezzanine with a token booth and two staircases going up to either eastern corners of 28th Street and Seventh Avenue. On the southbound platform, a turnstile bank leads to an unstaffed mezzanine. Two staircases go up to either western corners of 28th Street and Seventh Avenue.[1]

Both platforms have an exit-only at their extreme south ends, at 27th Street. A single exit-only turnstile from each platform leads to one staircase each going up to either northern corner of Seventh Avenue and 27th Street. The northwest-corner exit, from the southbound platform, is outside Fashion Institute of Technology. The northeast-corner exit is from the northbound platform.[1]

References

1. "MTA Neighborhood Maps: 28 Street (1)" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2018. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
2. "Station Developers' Information". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
3. "Facts and Figures: Annual Subway Ridership 2014–2019". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
4. "New York MPS West 28th Street Subway Station (Dual System IRT)". Records of the National Park Service, 1785 - 2006, Series: National Register of Historic Places and National Historic Landmarks Program Records, 2013 - 2017, Box: National Register of Historic Places and National Historic Landmarks Program Records: New York, ID: 75313899. National Archives.
5. "Terms and Conditions of Dual System Contracts". nycsubway.org. Public Service Commission. March 19, 1913. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
6. "The Dual System of Rapid Transit (1912)". nycsubway.org. Public Service Commission. September 1912. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
7. "Most Recent Map of the Dual Subway System Which Shows How Brooklyn Borough Is Favored In New Transit Lines". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. September 9, 1917. p. 37. Retrieved August 23, 2016 – via Brooklyn Public Library; newspapers.com.
8. Sealey, D.A. (1916). "Rapid Transit Work in New York City, 1915". Engineering News. McGraw-Hill Publishing Company. 75 (18): 846 – via HathiTrust.
9. Whitney, Travis H. (March 10, 1918). "The Seventh and Lexington Avenue Subways Will Revive Dormant Sections" (PDF). The New York Times. p. 12. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
10. "Public Service Commission Fixes July 15 For Opening of The New Seventh and Lexington Avenue Subway Lines" (PDF). The New York Times. May 19, 1918. p. 32. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
11. "Open New Subway to Regular Traffic" (PDF). The New York Times. July 2, 1918. p. 11. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
12. "Open New Subway Lines to Traffic; Called a Triumph" (PDF). The New York Times. August 2, 1918. p. 1. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-04-21.

External links

• nycsubway.org – IRT West Side Line: 28th Street
• Station Reporter – 1 Train
• 28th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• 27th Street exit only stairs from Google Maps Street View
• Platforms from Google Maps Street View