List of closed New York City Subway stations
The New York City Subway has a history of closing stations during the 120 years it has existed. Some stations were closed because of platform extensions or unusable sections that newer trains could not handle.
City Hall Loop (6) (IRT Lexington Avenue Line)
The City Hall Loop station was one of the original IRT subway stations that opened in 1904. The loop was built with one loop track and platform. The design was for preventing cab changes at the southern most last stop on the train route (which Is known as the (6) train route today).
World War II caused ridership at City Hall station to dramatically decrease, only limiting weekday service.
The station's last day in service was December 31st, 1945. The station has not been used for passenger service since. City Hall station has a stage of preservation by the New York Transit Museum with monthly tours only available for members. While the station and entrance is unused and blocked off, the tracks are still used to turn around Southbound (6) trains back to Pelham Bay Park. City Hall station's replacement was a four tracked, two island platform "express station" that does not require excessive curving. One of the reasons why City Hall was unreliable was because newer cars were equipped with doors located at the center of the subway car. This was a problem because it created a large gap that was almost impossible to walk over without falling in-between the car and the platform. No plans for reactivating the station have been made because of safety concerns and the curve that would break newer cars.
South Ferry Loop (1) (IRT 7th Avenue Line)
The South Ferry Loop was an active station built around the same time City Hall Loop was with service lasting up until 2017. The station was built similar to City Hall but was built with two tracks (the inner track connecting to the IRT Lexington Avenue Line's Bowling Green (4) (5) and the outer track connecting to the IRT 7th Avenue line (1) ). The inner track used to serve south Ferry as well with a inner platform, but the inner tracks platform was closed in 1937 with a replacement station just north of there (Bowling Green (4) (5) ). A shuttle service (labeled as "SS") ran from South Ferry Loop to Bowling Green as a inservice transfer without exiting the station. The shuttle used a select modified 4 car R14 set but eventually the shuttle was discontinued around the late 60's and the selected R14 set was retired as well. Around the R62A Era, gap fillers were installed at the station to limit safety concerns, but over the years, gap filler operations started to show their age, so the MTA needed to look for replacements. The replacement design was a doubled-track island platform design with a continuous layup track just south of the station for overlaying (1) trains that do not plan to return back to Van Cortland Park within 30 Minutes. South Ferry Loop was eventually closed in 2007. Due to damage because of hurricane Sandy, The MTA temporarily reopened South Ferry Loop in 2013 while repairs were in place for the other station. Eventually in 2017, South Ferry was reopened and the loop was discontinued in 2017 and seized operations entirely. While the station isn't used for regular service, the inner track is used to turn around Southbound (5) trains back to Eastchester-Dyre Ave. On weekends, the South Ferry Loop is also used for excursion runs.
Court Street (HH) (Court Street Shuttle)
The Court Street Station was a short branch line that originates at Hoyt-Schemmerhorn Street (A)(C)(G) and uses the outer tracks that branches off around three blocks to a terminus station called Court Street, the line was originally planned to be used as a service from Court Street - Euclid avenue as a similar (C) service or for short term (C) trains. The plan was canceled and instead of a full route from Euclid - Court Street, it operated as a shuttle service from Hoyt Schemmerhorn Street to Court Street, this was a very short route that only took around 30 seconds. The service was listed as a "HH" instead of a "S" or "SS" to reduce confusion with an already existing "SS" route. The Court Street Branch only lasted roughly 10 years from 1923 - 1937 when the HH service was discontinued and the outer tracks along with the platform was dissused and abandoned, Court Street Station entirely closed with sealed entrances, as well as the outer tracks entrances were gated off. It is still visible from platform view on a (A) or (C) train.
In 1976, to celebrate the Declaration of Independence's 200th year anniversary, the MTA decided to repurpose Court Street Station. The station was reopened as a temporary exhibit for the anniversary with showing off some retired or new equipment, the exhibit planned to close September of that year, but because of a surplus amount of visitors, the exhibit became a permanent museum location and exchanged ownership and became known as the New York Transit Museum with an annex shop at Grand Central Terminal. Today, the museum still exists and occasionally swaps out some retired rolling stock for exhibitation purpouses, while Hoyt Schemerhorn Street's outer station platforms are still dissused and neglected but the MTA recently used the station platform to film one of Netflix's Hawkeye series Series for the subway scene. Their were no plans to bring back the "HH" Service as of today, Reactivation is almost impossible considering the run down structures and artifacts from the years of the line being disused, you can be able to see Court Street Station as it is a Dailey opened museum and you are able to learn the history of the subway and the original IRT subway dating back to 1904.
Myrtle Avenue Upper Level (J)(M)(Z) (BMT Nassau Line)
The Myrtle Avenue Upper Level is an abandoned part of the original Myrtle Avenue El (11) or (MJ). It is not destroyed. It is from the late 19th century. The Myrtle Avenue El started from 1889 and finished in 1915. The line went from park row in Brooklyn to Middle Village, Queens. It had stops along the way. The Myrtle avenue upper level was part of the original Myrtle Avenue El (MJ) until 1969. Then, half of the line was destroyed because of competition with the (G) train. Part of the line was not demolished. Instead it was joined into the (M) route from Myrtle viaduct to Middle Village. The rest of the line is still used. The tracks on the El were raised with several electrical components being removed, with the track structure still existing from the upper level to the viaduct. The upper level was repurposed as a storage room for MTA employees. several structures and artifacts still exist from when the (MJ) was a thing.
Bergen Street Lower Level (G) (F) (IND Crosstown Line)
The Bergen Street lower level was apart and one of the artifacts of the proposed express Crosstown Line service.Bergen Street opened on March 20, 1933, as the first station of the IND Culver Line. Service began one month after the expansion of the IND into Brooklyn to Jay Street–Borough Hall. The station's construction was expedited in order to both connect with and compete with the Bergen Street and Smith Street streetcar lines of the Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT). Construction was slightly stalled due to delays in the delivery of steel flues for the ventilation system. Bergen Street's lower level, though opened at the same time as the upper level, was not used in revenue service until 1968, when rush hour F express service along the IND Culver Line began. This service ran until 1976, ending due to service cuts and complaints from Culver local residents about losing direct access to Manhattan. The lower level was abandoned afterward; trains rerouted via the express tracks during construction or service disruptions bypass the station towards Jay Street (northbound) or 7th Avenue (southbound). The lower-level platforms have not been used since except for a scene for the movie Jacob's Ladder. The tile was removed during renovations in the 1990s, leaving unpainted concrete and corrugated metal, old lights and signage (including original IND signs reading "BERGN" on support pillars), and modern Exit signs, none of which are in usable condition. The only remaining IND tile work exists in the stairwells between the levels, with directional tile plaques reading "EXPRESS TRAINS" and pointing to the lower level. Steel doors on the upper level block access to the staircases to the lower level, which is used for support facilities, storage of heavy equipment and occasional layups of A and C trains.
A study on implementing an F express variant on the Culver Line found that reopening Bergen Street's lower level for express trains had potential benefits, including relieving passenger congestion along the heavily used northern section of the line, but that the costs of reopening the lower level outweighed the benefits. When the station was used for express service, passengers would wait on the staircases to see which level the next Manhattan-bound train would arrive at. In the early 2010s, this occurred at the Delancey Street/Essex Street station where passengers wait to see whether a northbound F train arrives on the lower level, or whether a northbound M train arrives on the upper level, since both services operate local along the Sixth Avenue Line north of that point. Repairs to restore the lower level to operating conditions, as well as required upgrades to make the station ADA-accessible, are estimated to cost over $75 million. As the MTA has deemed restoring the lower level to be prohibitively expensive, F express trains – which resumed service in September 2019 – bypass the station. While Begren Street lower level is inaccessible through normal entryway, passengers could still see the station on the Weekday <F> Express service when it uses the lower level to bypass Bergen Street.
Nevins Street Lower Level (2)(3) (4)(5) (IRT Eastern Parkway Line)
The Lower Level at Nevins Street was a proposed branch line for EPKW trains. This unused trackway was part of several plans for connecting the line to other proposed lines. At its north end, this trackway splits from the southbound local track just south of Hoyt Street, and starts heading downgrade. The track was never laid. At the curve in the subway from Fulton Street to Flatbush Avenue, the trackway curves under the southbound local track, and is joined by another unused trackway heading north along Flatbush Avenue for a proposed Manhattan Bridge connection (which was later built for the BMT, though this connection may have still been planned when that line was built, as the DeKalb Avenue station was designed to allow for it). After the lower Nevins Street platform, a trackway splits to the east for a subway under Lafayette Avenue; this was later built as part of the IND Fulton Street and Crosstown Lines. Just beyond this split, at Lafayette Avenue, the trackway was cut by the IND when the IND was built from 1929 to 1937. On the other side, it rises again to merge with the southbound local track in the midst of the complicated switch layout just north of Atlantic Avenue – Barclays Center. Between this merge and Atlantic Avenue is another unused trackway, splitting from the local track towards a subway under Fourth Avenue (later built as the BMT Fourth Avenue Line). This trackway and another trackway (both built for the same proposed subway) end at the same level, under Fourth Avenue, just west of the Pacific Street station on the current BMT Fourth Avenue Line and a few feet higher.
On the northbound side, the connection provided by the lower level trackway would have been along the northbound local track (which was not in the original plans). The trackway on this side begins by curving from Fourth Avenue under the line. The place it used to rise is covered, as the trackway beyond that point is now used for the northbound local track. The ramp was covered in July 1963, and was made into a level trackway. This ramp was supposed to be northbound trackway of the proposed IRT Fourth Avenue Subway (before the BRT/BMT was built). The northbound local and express tracks were rearranged by November 1963.