121st Street (BMT Jamaica Line)

121st Street
New York City Subway rapid transit station
Facing southbound from a bench on the northbound platform in March 2012 at the 121st Street station.
Station statistics
Address	121st Street & Jamaica Avenue Queens, NY 11418
Borough	Queens
Locale	Richmond Hill
Coordinates	40°42′01″N 73°49′44″W / 40.700357°N 73.82894°WCoordinates: 40°42′01″N 73°49′44″W / 40.700357°N 73.82894°W
Division	B (BMT)
Line	BMT Jamaica Line
Services	J  (all except rush hours, peak direction)       Z  (rush hours, peak direction)
Transit connections	NYCT Bus: Q55, Q56 MTA Bus: Q10
Structure	Elevated
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	2
Other information
Opened	July 3, 1918[1]
Traffic
Passengers (2015)	788,674[2]  2.9%
Rank	389 out of 422
Station succession
Next north	Sutphin Boulevard – Archer Avenue – JFK Airport: J  Z  Metropolitan Avenue (former Jamaica Line station; demolished)
Next south	111th Street: J  (Z  skips to 104th Street)
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times except rush hours in the peak direction Stops rush hours in the peak direction only Stops all times
Location

121st Street is a skip-stop station on the elevated BMT Jamaica Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of 121st Street and Jamaica Avenue in Queens, it is served by the Z train during rush hours in the peak direction, and by the J train at all other times.

Station layout

Track layout
Legend
to 111 St to Sutphin Blvd

P Platform level	Side platform, doors will open on the right
	Southbound	← toward Broad Street off-peak hours (111th Street) ← toward Broad Street AM rush hours (104th Street)
	Center track	→ No track or roadbed
	Northbound	→ off-peak hours ( PM rush hours) toward Jamaica Center – Parsons/Archer (Sutphin Boulevard) →
	Side platform, doors will open on the right
M	Mezzanine	Fare control, station agent
G	Street Level	Exit/ Entrance

This elevated station was opened on July 3, 1918^[1] by the Brooklyn Union Elevated Railroad, an affiliate of the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company. The station has two tracks and two side platforms, with space for a center express track that was never added.^[3][4]

This station has beige windscreens, green canopies, and two exits. The full-time exit is at the west (railroad south) end of the station. One staircase from each platform leads to the mezzanine beneath the tracks. Outside of fare control, a pair of staircases lead down to either side of Jamaica Avenue on the west side of 121st Street.

There is an additional un-staffed exit at the east (railroad north) end of the station leading to the west side of 123rd Street. This exit is split in half due to the closed-off station house beneath the tracks. A single staircase from each platforms leads to a landing that contains a full-height turnstile before reaching the street stairs. The Manhattan-bound side is HEET turnstile access while the Jamaica-bound side is exit-only.

This is the easternmost station on the Jamaica Line. East of here, trains go underground to the BMT Archer Avenue Line. During construction of the Archer Avenue Line, this station was the terminal for the Jamaica Avenue El from April 15, 1985, to December 10, 1988. The remainder of the el was replaced by Q49 bus service until the Archer Avenue Line opened up.

Construction on the ramps to Archer Avenue was completed in November 1987, but since the tunnels were not ready for service until 1988, a double crossover east (railroad north) of the station was installed while the ramps were used for storage. After reaching 121st Street, trains used the crossover to switch from the Jamaica-bound track to the Manhattan-bound one, where they would relay to the platform and begin service to Manhattan. The elevated structure between this station in the vicinity of 127th Street, and the now-demolished Metropolitan Avenue station was torn down to make way for the connecting ramps.

References

1. • "OPEN NEW SUBWAY TO REGULAR TRAFFIC; First Train on Seventh Avenue Line Carries Mayor and Other Officials ... New Extensions of Elevated Railroad Service … Currents of Travel to Change" (July 2, 1918). New York Times Company. July 2, 1918. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
   • "'L' Trains Now Run Through to Jamaica" (PDF) (July 4, 1918). Leader Observer (Queens/Brooklyn, NY). July 4, 1918. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
   • Report of the Public Service Commission for the First District of the State of New York, Volume 1. New York State Public Service Commission. January 10, 1919. pp. 61,71,285,286. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
2. "Facts and Figures: Annual Subway Ridership". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
3. "Construction of Foundations and Structure: Section 1, Jamaica Line" (PDF). New York Municipal Railway Corporation. 1915. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
4. Marrero, Robert (2015-09-13). "469 Stations, 846 Miles" (PDF). B24 Blog, via Dropbox. Retrieved 2015-10-09.

External links

• nycsubway.org – BMT Jamaica Line: 121st Street
• Station Reporter — J Train
• The Subway Nut — 121st Street Pictures
• 121st Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• 123rd Street entrance from Google Maps Street View