Simpson Street  ​
Station house as viewed from the street
Station statistics
Address	Simpson Street & Westchester Avenue Bronx, New York
Borough	The Bronx
Locale	Longwood
Coordinates	40°49′26″N73°53′35″W / 40.824°N 73.893°W /40.824; -73.893
Division	A (IRT)[1]
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:Bx4,Bx4A,Bx5,Bx19,Bx27
Structure	Elevated
Platforms	2side platforms
Tracks	3
Other information
Opened	November 26, 1904; 120 years ago (1904-11-26) (3rd Ave. Line; Bergen Avenue By-pass) July 10, 1905; 120 years ago (1905-07-10) (White Plains Rd. Line)
Accessible	ADA-accessible
Traffic
2024	1,368,041[2]  2.3%
Rank	232 out of 423[2]
Services Preceding station New York City Subway Following station Freeman Street 2  ​5  viaEast 180th Street Local Intervale Avenue 2  ​5  towardFlatbush Avenue–Brooklyn College
Location Show map of New York City Subway Show map of New York City Show map of New York
Track layout Legend toFreeman Street toIntervale Avenue
Street map
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times Stops all times except rush hours in the peak direction
Simpson Street Subway Station and Substation #18 (IRT)
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
The accompanying IRT Substation #18 at 1043 Simpson Street less than one block north of the subway station.
MPS	New York City Subway System MPS
NRHP reference No.	04001027[3]
Added to NRHP	September 17, 2004

TheSimpson Street station is a localstation on theIRT White Plains Road Line of theNew York City Subway. Located at the intersection of Simpson Street and Westchester Avenue in theLongwood neighborhood ofthe Bronx, it is served by the2 train at all times, and the5 train at all times except late nights and rush hours in the peak direction.

The initial segment of the IRT White Plains Road Line opened on November 26, 1904, between180th Street–Bronx Park andJackson Avenue. Initially, trains on the line were served by elevated trains from theIRT Second Avenue Line and theIRT Third Avenue Line. Once the connection to theIRT Lenox Avenue Line opened on July 10, 1905, trains from the newly opened IRT subway ran via the line.^[4][5][6]

To address overcrowding, in 1909, theNew York Public Service Commission proposed lengthening the platforms at stations along the original IRT subway.^[7]: 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 $50.6 million in 2024) spent on platform lengthening, $500,000 (equivalent to $16.9 million in 2024) was spent on building additional entrances and exits. It was anticipated that these improvements would increase capacity by 25 percent.^[8]: 15 The northbound platform at the Simpson Street station was extended 50 feet (15 m) to the front and 55 feet (17 m) to the rear,^[8]: 114 while the southbound platform was not lengthened.^[8]: 106 On January 23, 1911, ten-car express trains began running on the White Plains Road Line.^{[7]: 168 [9]}

The New York State Transit Commission announced plans to extend the southbound platforms at seven stations on the line fromJackson Avenue to177th Street, including Simpson Street to accommodate ten-car trains for $81,900 on August 8, 1934.^[10]

The city government took over the IRT's operations on June 12, 1940.^[11][12] 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.^[5] On June 13, 1949, the platform extensions at this station, as well as those on White Plains Road Line stations between Jackson Avenue and177th Street, 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.^[13]

The station was renovated in the early 2000s. This station was listed on theNational Register of Historic Places on September 17, 2004, along with the Westchester-Simpson Street Substation, also known as IRT Substation #18.^[3]

Platform level	Side platform
	Northbound local	← towardWakefield–241st Street(Freeman Street) ← towardEastchester–Dyre Avenue(Freeman Street)
	Peak-direction express	← PM rush does not stop here ← AM rush does not stop here →
	Southbound local	← towardFlatbush Avenue–Brooklyn College viaSeventh(Intervale Avenue) → ← toward Flatbush Avenue–Brooklyn College viaLexington weekdays, Bowling Green evenings/weekends(Intervale Avenue) →
	Side platform
Ground	Street level	Exit/entrance Uptown elevator at southwest corner of Simpson Street and Westchester Avenue; downtown elevator at northwest corner

This station has twoside platforms and three tracks. The center express track is used by the 5 train during rush hours in the peak direction. To the north, the line curves from Westchester Avenue to Southern Boulevard. TheIRT Pelham Line (6 and <6>​ trains), which curves above Westchester Avenue five blocks northeast of this station, is visible from the east end of the platforms.

As with other original IRT elevated viaducts, the elevated structure at Simpson Street is carried on two column bents, one on each side of the road, at places where the tracks are no more than 29 feet (8.8 m) above the ground level. There is zigzag lateral bracing at intervals of every four panels.^[14]

Both platforms have cream-colored windscreens and red canopies. Both platforms also have green outlines, frames, and support columns in their center and green waist-high, ornament-style steel fences at either ends with several lampposts. The station's signs are in the standard black name plates with white Helvetica lettering.

Due to the tracks' low height above ground, both station houses are at platform level and there are no crossovers or crossunders. Elevators from the street to each platform make this stationADA-accessible. The station's elevators were installed in August 1989, making the station one of the earliest to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

The southbound platform (for trains headed toManhattan) has a station house that is staffed full-time and contains several sets of doors leading to the small waiting area from the platform, aturnstile bank, token booth, two staircases going down to either northern corners of Simpson Street and Westchester Avenue, and one elevator going down to the northeast corner. Ahigh exit-only turnstile on either side of the station house leads directly to one of the street stairs from the platform.^[15]

The northbound platform's station house is unstaffed, containing several sets of doors leading to the small waiting area from the platform, a bank of three turnstiles, two staircases going down to either southern corners of Simpson Street and Westchester Avenue, and one elevator going down to the southwest corner. It had a customer assistance booth until April 2010. A high exit-only turnstile on either side of the station house leads directly to one of the street stairs from the platform.^[15]

The 2006 artwork here is calledWhat We Build is Not Permanent, We Are Not What We Build by Lisa Amowitz. It consists of stained glass panels on the platform windscreens and station houses with the theme with renewing or rebuilding what has died or fallen.^[16]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toSimpson Street (IRT White Plains Road Line).

• Accessible New York City Subway stations
• IRT White Plains Road Line stations
• Railway and subway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in New York City
• New York City Subway stations in the Bronx
• Railway stations in the United States opened in 1904
• 1904 establishments in New York City
• National Register of Historic Places in the Bronx
• Longwood, Bronx

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