Mount Vernon East (Metro-North station)

Mount Vernon East
A New York City-bound train arrives at Mount Vernon East station.
Location	1 East First Street, Mount Vernon, NY 10550
Coordinates	40°54′43″N 73°49′54″W / 40.911942°N 73.831678°WCoordinates: 40°54′43″N 73°49′54″W / 40.911942°N 73.831678°W
Owned by	Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Line(s)	New Haven Line
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	4
Connections	Bee-Line Bus System: (see Petrillo Plaza below)
Construction
Parking	283 spaces
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Fare zone	12
History
Electrified	700V (DC) third rail
Previous names	Mount Vernon (????-1997?)[1]
Services
Preceding station   Metro-North Railroad   Following station Yankees – East 153rd Street toward Grand Central New Haven Line Yankee game days only Pelham toward New Haven State Street Fordham toward Grand Central New Haven Line Pelham toward New Haven State Street

The Mount Vernon East Metro-North Railroad station serves passengers at Mount Vernon, New York, via the New Haven Line. The station is the first station north of the junction where the New Haven Line splits from the Harlem Line and is the only station on the line before it changes from third rail power to overhead catenary power, which takes place north of there, between Mount Vernon East and Pelham stations. Some New Haven Railroad-era overhead catenary poles can still be found southwest of the Gramatan Avenue bridge.^[2] After Pelham, the New Haven Line joins the Northeast Corridor at New Rochelle.

Mount Vernon East is 14 miles (23 km) from Grand Central Terminal and the average travel time from Grand Central is 29 minutes. It contains stained glass artwork named Tranquility by Marjorie Blackwell from 2001,^[3] and the station itself is dedicated to Fred Wilkinson.

History

Prior to being acquired by Penn Central Railroad, the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad had two stations in Mount Vernon; The main station which was actually located west of the Park Avenue Bridge rather than east of it, and another at Columbus Avenue, which also included a connecting station for the New York, Westchester and Boston Railway,^[4] one of five NYW&B stations within the city. Mount Vernon's main New Haven Railroad station contained a series of sidetracks on the north side of East First Street between Park and Fulton Avenues. Penn Central closed the Columbus Avenue station during the early-1970s and converted the sidetracks into extended parking lots. After the station became a Metro-North station, it was moved and rebuilt across the Park Avenue Bridge to Elm Avenue across from Portugal Place, in spite of the fact that Metro-North still gives the address as being at East First Street. Today, the site of the old Mount Vernon New Haven Railroad Station is occupied by August Petrillo Plaza (see below), a Westchester County Bee-Line Bus System and local taxi hub.

Platform and track configuration

3	■ New Haven Line	for Grand Central
1	■ New Haven Line	no stop
2	■ New Haven Line	no stop
4	■ New Haven Line	for New Haven – State Street

This station has two high-level side platforms, each 10 cars long. The northern platform, adjacent to Track 3, is generally used by westbound trains. The southern platform, adjacent to Track 4, is generally used by eastbound trains.

The New Haven Line has four tracks at this location. The two inner tracks, not adjacent to either platform, are used only by express trains.

Petrillo Plaza bus connections

The following bus routes serve the Petrillo Plaza area, along the site of the former New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Depot at Mount Vernon. The site was named for former Mayor August Petrillo.

Route	Stop location	Terminal1	Terminal2	via	notes
Bee-Line Bus
7		Yonkers Getty Square Riverdale Avenue	New Rochelle Transit Center (Platform C)	Yonkers Avenue, Lincoln Avenue
40		Wakefield, Bronx 233rd Street and White Plains Road at 233rd Street ( 2   5  trains)	Valhalla (Westchester Medical Center)	Hillside Avenue, White Plains Road	Some weekday trips are extended to Wakefield-241st Street subway station. Some late evening trips operate via Saw Mill River Road in Elmsford instead of Hillside Avenue.
41		Wakefield, Bronx 233rd Street and White Plains Road at 233rd Street ( 2   5  trains)	Valhalla (Westchester Medical Center)	Hillside Avenue, White Plains Road	Limited-stop service from Valhalla to White Plains. Express from White Plains to Mount Vernon with one stop at Eastchester Square.
42		Wakefield, Bronx 233rd Street and White Plains Road at 233rd Street ( 2   5  trains)	New Rochelle Transit Center (Platform B)	West First Street, Pelhamdale Avenue	Weekend and evening service ends at 241st Street instead of 233rd Street. The last PM trip to the Bronx operates via Sound Shore Medical Center in New Rochelle.
52		Pelham Bay Park, Bronx Bruckner Boulevard at Pelham Bay Park ( 6   <6>  trains)	Bronxville Bronxville (Metro-North station)	Gramatan Avenue, South Fifth Avenue	No Sunday service.
53		to Mount Vernon High School		East 3rd Street, Fifth Avenue (Pelham), Pelhamdale Avenue	Weekday rush-hour service only. In the Chester Heights section of the city
54		Mount Vernon Local		Sandford Boulevard and Fulton Avenue and South 11th Avenue	Weekday rush-hour service only. Open door along Mundy Lane in the Bronx. The first AM trip from Sandford Boulevard continues to Mount Vernon High School. In the Parkside section of the city
55		Eastchester, Bronx Dyre Avenue and Light Street at Dyre Avenue ( 5  train)	Cross County Shopping Center Macy's	Terrace Avenue, South Columbus Avenue
91		Yonkers Yonkers (Metro-North station)	Rye Playland	Yonkers Avenue, South Fulton Avenue, Sandford Boulevard, Pelhamdale Avenue, Boston Post Road, New England Thruway	Limited-stop service, Nonstop from New Rochelle to Playland.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

This station stood in for the Rockville Centre Station during the filming of the 2004 movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.^[5]

References

1. Mount Vernon East station (Road and Rail Pictures)
2. DanTD (April 21, 2011). Mount Vernon East-11,000 Volts (photograph). Retrieved March 29, 2012.
3. Mount Vernon East; Marjorie Blackwell; Tranquility, 2001 (MTA; Arts for Transit and Urban Design)
4. Columbus Avenue NHRR and NYW&B station; October 1937 (TrainsAreFun)
5. Site about the film

External links

Media related to Mount Vernon East (Metro-North station) at Wikimedia Commons

• Metro-North Railroad - Mount Vernon East
• List of upcoming train departure times and track assignments from MTA
• Station House from Google Maps Street View
• Fulton Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View