121st Street station (BMT Jamaica Line)

For the demolished station serving the IRT Second Avenue Line in Manhattan, see 121st Street (IRT Second Avenue Line).

The 121st Street station 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 Richmond Hill, Queens,^[6][7] it is served by the Z train during rush hours in the peak direction and the J train at all other times.

121 Street  ​
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
Northbound platform prior to renovation
Station statistics
Address	121st Street and Jamaica Avenue Queens, New York
Borough	Queens
Locale	Richmond Hill
Coordinates	40.700357°N 73.82894°W / 40.700357; -73.82894
Division	B (BMT)[1]
Line	BMT Jamaica Line
Services	J  (all except rush hours, peak direction) ​   Z  (rush hours, peak direction)
Transit	NYCT Bus: Q55, Q56 MTA Bus: Q10
Structure	Elevated
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	2
Other information
Opened	July 3, 1918 (106 years ago) (1918-07-03)[2][3][4]
Accessible	not ADA-accessible; accessibility planned
Opposite- direction transfer	Yes
Traffic
2023	476,966[5]  6.8%
Rank	390 out of 423[5]
Services Preceding station New York City Subway Following station 104th Street Z  skip-stop Sutphin Boulevard–Archer Avenue–JFK Airport J  ​Z  toward Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer 111th Street J  toward Broad Street
Non-revenue services and lines Preceding station New York City Subway Following station   no service Metropolitan Avenue demolished
Location Show map of New York City Subway Show map of New York City Show map of New York
Track layout Legend to Sutphin–Archer–JFK Airport to 111th Street
Street map
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

History

This station was opened on July 3, 1918, by the Brooklyn Union Elevated Railroad, an affiliate of the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company.^[2][3][4]

During construction of the Archer Avenue Line, the Jamaica Avenue elevated line was cut back past 121st Street on April 15, 1985. The Q49 bus, which replaced Jamaica elevated service running from the line's previous terminal of Queens Boulevard to the line's original terminal at 168th Street, was extended to 121st Street. Until the opening of the Archer Avenue Line in 1988, J trains alternately terminated at 111th Street and 121st Street, with peak period headways to 121st Street being ten minutes.^[8] This temporary service pattern was originally slated to be in effect for six or seven months.^[9] 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.^{[citation needed]} The Archer Avenue Line opened on December 11, 1988, and service was extended from 121st Street to Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer.^[10]

The Manhattan-bound platform closed for renovations on February 6, 2017, and reopened on December 22, 2017,^[11] delayed from the summer.^[12] The Jamaica Center-bound platform closed for renovations on February 12, 2018, and reopened on November 14, 2018,^[13] delayed from its planned reopening in the summer.^[14] As part of its 2025–2029 Capital Program, the MTA has proposed making the station wheelchair-accessible in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.^[15]

Station layout

Platform level	Side platform
	Westbound local	← toward Broad Street (111th Street) ← AM rush toward Broad Street (104th Street) ← AM rush does not stop here
	Peak-direction express	No track or roadbed
	Eastbound local	→ toward Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer (Sutphin Boulevard–Archer Avenue–JFK Airport) → → PM rush toward Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer (Sutphin Boulevard–Archer Avenue–JFK Airport) → → PM rush does not stop here →
	Side platform
Mezzanine		Fare control, station agent, MetroCard and OMNY machines
Ground	Street Level	Entrance/exit

This elevated station has two tracks and two side platforms, with space for a center express track that was never added.^[16][17] The station has beige windscreens and green canopies. This is the easternmost station on the Jamaica Line, east of here, trains go underground to the BMT Archer Avenue Line.

Exits

There are 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.^[18]

There is an additional unstaffed 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 platform leads to a landing that contains a full-height HEET turnstile before the street stairs.^[18]

References

1. "Glossary". Second Avenue Subway Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS) (PDF). Vol. 1. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. March 4, 2003. pp. 1–2. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 26, 2021. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
2. "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" (PDF). The New York Times. No. July 2, 1918. July 2, 1918. p. 11. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
3. "'L' Trains Now Run Through to Jamaica" (PDF). The Leader-Observer. Queens/Brooklyn, New York. July 4, 1918. p. 1. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 15, 2020. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
4. 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.
5. "Annual Subway Ridership (2018–2023)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
6. "Richmond Hill, Queens" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
7. "Kew Gardens, Queens" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
8. "121st Street Is The End For J-Train Passengers". Forum of South Queens. April 13, 1985.
9. Rabin, Bernard (April 10, 1985). "Battle on Archer Ave. line". New York Daily News.
10. Johnson, Kirk (December 9, 1988). "Big Changes For Subways Are to Begin". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 6, 2016.
11. "J Line - Weekday and Weekend Planned Service Changes". n.v12.net. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. December 22, 2017. Archived from the original on December 18, 2018. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
12. "J Line - Weekend and Weekday Planned Service Change". n.v12.net. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. February 2, 2017. Archived from the original on December 18, 2018. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
13. "121 St - Full Service Restored". web.mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
14. "Jamaica-bound platform at 121 St is closed for renovation". web.mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Archived from the original on February 16, 2018. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
15. "2025-2029 Capital Plan". mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. September 25, 2024. p. 187 (PDF p. 95). Retrieved January 1, 2025.
16. Construction of Foundations and Structure: Section 1, Jamaica Line (PDF). City of New York: New York Municipal Railway Corporation. 1915. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
17. Dougherty, Peter (2006) [2002]. Tracks of the New York City Subway 2006 (3rd ed.). Dougherty. OCLC 49777633 – via Google Books.
18. "MTA Neighborhood Maps: Kew Gardens" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2018. Retrieved October 1, 2018.

External links

• nycsubway.org – BMT Jamaica Line: 121st Street
• Station Reporter — J Train
• The Subway Nut — 121st Street Pictures Archived January 5, 2018, at the Wayback Machine
• 121st Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• 123rd Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Platforms from Google Maps Street View