Lexington Avenue – 63rd Street (63rd Street Lines)

Lexington Avenue–63rd Street
New York City Subway rapid transit station
Upper platform
Station statistics
Address	Lexington Avenue & East 63rd Street New York, NY 10065
Borough	Manhattan
Locale	Upper East Side, Lenox Hill
Coordinates	40°45′53″N 73°57′59″W / 40.764649°N 73.966398°W / 40.764649; -73.966398Coordinates: 40°45′53″N 73°57′59″W / 40.764649°N 73.966398°W / 40.764649; -73.966398
Division	B (BMT/IND)
Line	IND/BMT 63rd Street Lines
Services	F  (all times)       N  (selected rush-hour trips)       Q  (all times)
System transfers	With MetroCard only:       4  (all times)       5  (all except late nights)       6  (all times) <6>  (weekdays until 8:45 p.m., peak direction)       N  (all times)       R  (all except late nights)       W  (weekdays only) at Lexington Avenue/59th Street (Transfer stations are not accessible)
Transit connections	NYCT Bus: M101, M102, M103 MTA Bus: BxM1
Structure	Underground
Depth	100 feet (30 m)
Levels	2
Platforms	2 island platforms (1 on each level) cross-platform interchange
Tracks	4 (2 on each level)
Other information
Opened	October 29, 1989; 27 years ago (1989-10-29)
Rebuilt	January 13, 2011; 6 years ago (2011-01-13) to January 1, 2017; 8 months ago (2017-01-01) (for Second Avenue Subway)
Station code	223
Accessible	ADA-accessible
Former/other names	Lexington Avenue
Traffic
Passengers (2016)	5,033,950  6.7%
Rank	93 out of 422
Station succession
Next north	Roosevelt Island (63rd Street): F  72nd Street (2nd Avenue): N  Q
Next south	57th Street (6th Avenue): F  57th Street–Seventh Avenue (Broadway): N  Q
Next north	Roosevelt Island (63rd Street): F  72nd Street (2nd Avenue): N  Q
Next south	47th–50th Streets–Rockefeller Center (6th Avenue): F  Times Square–42nd Street (Broadway): N  Q
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times except late nights Stops all times Stops rush hours only Stops rush hours in the peak direction only Stops weekdays only
Location Show map of New York City Subway Show map of New York City Show map of New York Show map of the US

Lexington Avenue–63rd Street (formerly Lexington Avenue) is a New York City Subway station in Lenox Hill, Manhattan, shared by the IND and BMT 63rd Street Lines. Located at the intersection of Lexington Avenue and 63rd Street, it is served by the F and Q trains at all times, and by limited N train service during rush hours. The station has two platform levels; trains headed southbound to downtown and Brooklyn use the upper level, while trains headed northbound to uptown and Queens use the lower level. This is one of the deepest stations in the subway system requiring several banks of long escalators.

Construction started at this station in 1969, and as a result of the city's fiscal crisis, the station did not open until 1989. Originally, the station was intended to be a transfer point between passengers from the Sixth Avenue–Queens service and from the Broadway–Second Avenue service. This station was designed to allow for cross-platform transfers. However, in 1975, while the station was being built, construction was halted on the Second Avenue Subway. As a result, the side of the station intended for service to Second Avenue, the BMT side, was walled off with a temporary orange brick wall. Also, space intended for an exit at Third Avenue was left unused. While the Sixth Avenue side opened for service in 1989, the other side was only used for storing Broadway Line trains. The station appeared as if it had one side platform on each level.

However, in 2007, construction resumed on the Second Avenue Subway, and as part of the line's construction, the BMT side of the station would finally be used. The orange wall was removed and replaced by a temporary barrier. Beige-white wall tiles were installed on the station walls adjacent to the tracks. The never-opened entrance at Third Avenue was redesigned with multiple elevators, and the station's false ceiling was removed. Before Second Avenue Subway service began operating, the temporary walls were removed, revealing the BMT side of the station. On January 1, 2017, the first phase of the Second Avenue Subway opened, with Q trains, and some rush hour N trains serving the BMT half of the station. Ridership has increased at the station with the opening of the Third Avenue exit and the introduction of Q service. Many passengers now take advantage of the cross-platform transfer available between the F and the Q.