Fordham Road (IND Concourse Line)

Station layout

Fordham Road is the largest station on the Concourse Line in terms of space, as it contains numerous closed stairs and passageways. The southbound island platform widens at the north end of the station to facilitate a wall that splits it half, creating two "side" platforms. The northbound island platform is like others found throughout the system. During construction of the station, the main road of Grand Concourse was diverted into an underpass below Fordham Road, while the subway tracks were placed underneath either service road; the space in between the split southbound platform is likely where the underpass dips below grade-level. The split portion of the southbound platform once had a passageway from the northernmost staircase at the Fordham Road side from the middle track to the local one; it is cordoned off permanently by a wall and employee-only door.

Between the north and south fare control areas is a small passageway on the eastern side of the station, half of which is outside the paid area and fenced off. The Fordham Road entrance is not accessible from the "local" side of the southbound platform; during off-peak hours, passengers must walk to the center of the platform for all downtown service. There is a Rapid Transit Operations Field Office at the south end of the full-time mezzanine, a result of the shortening of the mezzanine and elimination of two platform stairs for each side. Both platforms have six stairs to mezzanine level. The northbound one also has two closed stairs while the southbound has four, two on both the local and express sides.

The tile band is Concord Grape with Black Grape borders. On the walls of the southbound platform are mosaics reading "FORDHAM RD". The tablets show a different shade of purple in the center. A closed tower sits on the south end at the southbound platform.

Exits

The main fare control area, with the station's full-time token booth, is located at the middle of the station at East 188th Street. It has four street stairs, one for each corner of the intersection with Grand Concourse. Unusually, the two western staircases go down several steps to a short landing area, before rising to street level.

The smaller fare control at Fordham Road has only HEET turnstiles, and Emergency Exit gates which have had their alarms deactivated due to frequent use by exiting passengers. It has two street stairs, both at the east side of Fordham and Concourse; a long ramping passageway leads to the northernmost of theses two staircases. This was formerly a part-time entrance. The token booth at this location had been closed temporarily in the 1970s, and was permanently closed in August 2003 and is no longer present.

There were two additional street stairs and passageway at the west side of Fordham and Grand Concourse. They were nearest to the former location of Alexander's and Caldor. One exit led directly to the stores. Today, the building houses a mix of smaller stores.

Location

The station lies within the Fordham Road Business Improvement District, the third largest shopping district in the city stretching from Third and Webster Avenues west to Jerome Avenue. The northwest corner of Fordham Road and Grand Concourse was the location of a large Alexander's department store (2 Fordham Square) from 1933 to 1992, and is currently anchored by P. C. Richard & Son and Marshalls. This is the closest station to Fordham Plaza (the eastern end of the shopping district), and the Rose Hill campus of Fordham University.