Samiksha Jaiswal (Editor)

50th Street (IND Eighth Avenue Line)

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Division
  
B (IND)

Levels
  
2

Borough
  
Manhattan

Structure
  
Underground

Phone
  
+1 877-690-5116

Level
  
2

50th Street (IND Eighth Avenue Line)

Line
  
IND Eighth Avenue Line IND Queens Boulevard Line

Services
  
A  (late nights)       C  (all except late nights)       E  (all times)

Transit connections
  
NYCT Bus: M20, M50, M104

Address
  
New York, NY 10019, United States

Locale
  
Hell's Kitchen, Midtown Manhattan

Similar
  
Chambers Street–World Trade Ce, 34th Street–Penn Station, 135th Street, Spring Street, West Fourth Street–W

50th Street is a bi-level station on the IND Eighth Avenue Line and IND Queens Boulevard Line of the New York City Subway, located at 50th Street and Eighth Avenue in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan. The lower level is served by the E train at all times, and the upper level is served by the C at all times except late nights and the A during late nights.

Contents

Station layout

This bi-level station, opened on September 10, 1932, has six tracks and four side platforms in total. The upper level is fed by Eighth Avenue local trains from Central Park West and has four tracks and two side platforms. The center express tracks carry Eighth Avenue express trains during the day, and do not have any platforms. Fare control is at platform level.

The lower level has two tracks and two side platforms, separated by a curtain wall. The northbound track of the lower level is fed by the northbound local and express tracks at 42nd Street. In the southbound direction, lower level trains may access either the Eighth Avenue local or express tracks; until recently, they also had the option of running to the abandoned lower level of 42nd Street. The two levels are offset, with the upper level running from 50th to 52nd Streets and the lower from 49th to 51st. Neither level has crossover or crossunder between directions, although level-to-level transfer in the same direction is possible.

The station is being renovated as part of the 2010–2014 MTA Capital Program. As of an MTA study conducted in 2015, at least 37% of components were out of date.

Exits

The southbound side of 50th Street has an expanded mezzanine area, with exits to West 49th and West 50th Streets; it also has two ADA-accessible elevators (one from the street to the mezzanine, the other from the mezzanine to the lower-level platform). A ramp leads from the mezzanine to the downtown upper-level platform, which is only a few steps down. This mezzanine was reconstructed during the construction of the Worldwide Plaza Complex. An untitled etched-granite piece of artwork by Matt Mulligan was installed on the downtown upper-level platform in 1989 and features neighborhood life. The downtown side has an escalator to the lower level and exits into a building façade at the northwest corner of 8th Avenue and 49th Street. There are also two street stairs to the southwest corner of that intersection, as well as one street stair to either western corner of 8th Avenue and 50th Street.

In contrast to the downtown platforms, the uptown platforms lack elevators and are not ADA-accessible. Renovation, including addition of an elevator on the uptown side of the station, was planned for the 2005–2009 MTA Capital Program and was to reopen many closed stairways to the lower level; however, the elevator was not funded. There is one street stair from this platform to either eastern corner of 8th Avenue and 50th Street; the southeast stair is located inside a building. An additional stair is located at the northeast corner of 8th Avenue and 51st Street.

There are several closed exits from the station to the street, primarily at the north end of the station. These include stairs from all four corners of 8th Avenue and 52nd Streets. A closed exit goes from the downtown platforms to the southwest corner of 51st Street and 8th Avenue. An additional closed exit from the uptown side is located at the southeast corner of 49th Street and 8th Avenue.

  • In the Nickelodeon series Taina (2001-2002), the main character of the same name in the theme song opening is seen exiting the station as well as some shots of a local train entering the station. Also during the show's five second break showed some shots of the station as passengers getting off, and an express train bypassing the station on the express track.
  • In the Netflix series Daredevil, there is a scene in the first episode "Into the Ring" where Foggy Nelson meets Sgt. Brett Mahoney outside one of the station entrances to bribe him with cigars. The scene was actually shot outside Bedford Avenue on the BMT Canarsie Line.
  • References

    50th Street (IND Eighth Avenue Line) Wikipedia