The 96th Street station is an express station on the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of 96th Street and Broadway on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, it is served by the 1, 2, and 3 trains at all times.
The 96th Street station was constructed for the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) as part of the city's first subway line, which was approved in 1900. Construction of the line segment that includes the 96th Street station began on August 22 of the same year. The station opened on October 27, 1904, as one of the original 28 stations of the New York City Subway. The 96th Street station's platforms were lengthened in 1960 as part of an improvement project along the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line. A new head house and elevators were constructed between 2007 and 2010.
The 96th Street station contains two island platforms, two unused side platforms, and four tracks. The outer tracks are used by local trains while the inner two tracks are used by express trains. The station contains two sets of exits: a head house at the northern end, in the median of Broadway at 96th Street, as well as staircases at Broadway and 94th Street. The head house contains elevators, which make the station compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
History
Construction and opening
Planning for a subway line in New York City dates to 1864. However, development of what would become the city's first subway line did not start until 1894, when the New York State Legislature passed the Rapid Transit Act. The subway plans were drawn up by a team of engineers led by William Barclay Parsons, the Rapid Transit Commission's chief engineer. It called for a subway line from New York City Hall in lower Manhattan to the Upper West Side, where two branches would lead north into the Bronx. A plan was formally adopted in 1897, and all legal conflicts concerning the route alignment were resolved near the end of 1899.
The Rapid Transit Construction Company, organized by John B. McDonald and funded by August Belmont Jr., signed the initial Contract 1 with the Rapid Transit Commission in February 1900, under which it would construct the subway and maintain a 50-year operating lease from the opening of the line. In 1901, the firm of Heins & LaFarge was hired to design the underground stations. Belmont incorporated the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) in April 1902 to operate the subway.
The 96th Street station was constructed as part of the IRT's West Side Line (now the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line) from 82nd Street to 104th Street, for which work had begun on August 22, 1900. Work for that section had been awarded to William Bradley. By late 1903, the subway was nearly complete, but the IRT Powerhouse and the system's electrical substations were still under construction, delaying the system's opening. The 96th Street station opened on October 27, 1904, as one of the original 28 stations of the New York City Subway from City Hall to 145th Street on the West Side Branch.
Early 20th century
East Side local trains and West Side express trains crossed over at an at-grade junction north of 96th Street, creating heavy congestion during rush hours. In April 1907, the IRT submitted a report to the RTC, proposing to alleviate the congestion by building extra tracks. On June 27, 1907, a modification called the 96th Street Improvement was made to Contract 1 to add additional tracks at 96th Street in order to remove the at-grade junction north of the 96th Street station. Here, trains from Lenox Avenue and Broadway would switch to get to the express or local tracks and would delay service. The new tracks would have been constructed with the necessary fly-under tracks and switches. The estimated cost of the work was $850,000. Neighboring property owners objected to the plan since the work required tearing up the street above the tunnel. Accordingly, in December 1908, city officials announced they would introduce speed-control signals, making the 96th Street Improvement unnecessary. Some ramps had already been completed, so provisions were left to allow the work to be completed later on. The signals were put into place at 96th Street on April 23, 1909. The new signals allowed trains approaching a station to run more closely to the stopped train, eliminating the need to be separated by hundreds of feet.