
86th Street station (IRT Lexington Avenue Line)

86th Street is an express station on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of Lexington Avenue and 86th Street on the Upper East Side, it is served by the and trains at all times, the train at all times except late nights, and the <6> train during weekdays in peak direction. This station was constructed as part of the Dual Contracts by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company and opened in 1918.
History.
Construction and opening.
Following the completion of the original subway, there were plans to construct a line along Manhattan's east side north of 42nd Street. The original plan for what became the extension north of 42nd Street was to continue it south through Irving Place and into what is now the BMT Broadway Line at Ninth Street and Broadway. In July 1911, the IRT had withdrawn from the talks, and the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT) was to operate on Lexington Avenue. The IRT submitted an offer for what became its portion of the Dual Contracts on February 27, 1912.
In 1913, as part of the Dual Contracts, which were signed on March 19, 1913, the Public Service Commission planned to split the original Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) system from looking like a "Z" system (as seen on a map) to an "H"-shaped system. The original system would be split into three segments: two north–south lines, carrying through trains over the Lexington Avenue and Broadway–Seventh Avenue Lines, and a west–east shuttle under 42nd Street. This would form a roughly "H"-shaped system. It was predicted that the subway extension would lead to the growth of the Upper East Side and the Bronx.
86th Street station opened on July 17, 1918, with service initially running between Grand Central–42nd Street station and 167th Street via the line's local tracks. On August 1, the "H system" was put into place, with through service beginning on the new east and west side trunk lines, and the institution of the 42nd Street Shuttle along the old connection between the sides. The station's lower level opened on this date with the inauguration of express service. The cost of the extension from Grand Central was $58 million.
Station renovations.
In late 1959, contracts were awarded to extend the platforms at Bowling Green, Wall Street, Fulton Street, Canal Street, Spring Street, Bleecker Street, Astor Place, Grand Central, 86th Street and 125th Street to to accommodate ten-car trains.
In the early 1970s, the station was renovated with the opening of a Gimbels department store directly above. The renovation took place mostly in the fare control areas. The station was renovated again in 1986 as part of a move to prevent the existing New York City Subway stations from falling apart after years of deferred maintenance; this is evidenced by the addition of the then standard orange platform edge in addition to the yellow platform edge that was originally there, as well as painting the I Beams red instead of the original blue and fixing all the other parts of the station. 
In fall 2004, another station renovation project was completed. It consisted of repainting the I-beams from red to dark blue, as well as the removal of train arrival devices on the upper level that gave notices of approaching express trains on the lower level, among other things; the latter was replaced with countdown clocks, on both levels, which performed the same function.
This station was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 30, 2005.
Station layout.
This underground station has two levels. Each level has two tracks and two side platforms. The upper level serves local trains while the lower level, located approximately below ground, serves express trains. The 4 and 6 stop here at all times, and the 5 stops here at all times except late nights. There is no express service during late nights and the lower level is closed during that period. Four staircases connect the levels on each side.
There are no crossovers or crossunders between the platforms, making this one of only two express stations in the system where free transfers between opposite directions are not possible (the other is Bergen Street, whose lower level is closed, on the IND Culver Line). Each platform has its original Dual Contracts trim line consisting mostly of yellows and browns. Small "86" tablets in a circle run along this trim line. The name tablets have "86TH STREET" in a white serif font on a reddish-brown background with a light-brown inner border and green outer border. Teal columns run along all four platforms at regular intervals.
Each upper-level platform has one same-level fare control area in the center. The southbound side has a turnstile bank, token booth, two staircases going up to the southwest corner of East 86th Street and Lexington Avenue, and two more that are built inside a Best Buy store on the northwest corner of the same intersection. The northbound fare control has an unstaffed turnstile bank and two staircases going up to the southeast corner of East 86th Street and Lexington Avenue. An additional staircase and an elevator rise to the northeast corner. The elevator and staircase replace two narrow staircases formerly located inside a now-demolished shopping arcade at that corner. The elevator and staircase installations are part of the construction of a luxury residential tower at 147 East 86th Street.
, only the northbound local platform is ADA-accessible, since there is no elevator from the local platform to the express platform and no elevators on the southbound side. Accessibility of the entire station was proposed in August 2019 as part of the MTA's "Fast Forward" program.
The 2004 artwork here is called "Happy City" by Peter Sis. It consists of four different glass and etched stone mosaic murals in the shapes of huge eyes surrounded by various animals and objects. They are located at each stop of the four staircases near the fare control areas that go down to the lower level express platforms.