116th Street

This 116th Street station sits under Central Park West at the northern edge of Morningside Heights, where Manhattan Valley, Harlem and the university district all meet. It is one of the quieter uptown stops on the Eighth Avenue line, used mainly by residents of the surrounding brownstone blocks and by people heading toward Morningside Park or the Cathedral of St John the Divine a few streets away.

Do not confuse it with the 116th Street-Columbia University stop on the 1 train, which sits a few avenues west on Broadway. This station serves the A, B and C trains on the far west side of the neighbourhood, closer to Frederick Douglass Circle and the top of Central Park.

Station Overview

The station opened in 1932 as part of the Independent (IND) Eighth Avenue subway and sits in Zone 1. It is served by the A, B and C trains, all of which run north-south along Central Park West and Eighth Avenue. Facilities are modest, with toilets and a staffed booth for information and OMNY or MetroCard help.

Lines and Connectivity

The C train is the local service that stops here reliably through the day, running down the West Side to Midtown, Chelsea and Lower Manhattan before heading into Brooklyn. The B train provides additional weekday service toward Midtown and the Grand Concourse in the Bronx, while the A express serves the station during select hours. Heading north, these trains continue up toward Washington Heights and Inwood, giving a straight ride to the top of the island.

Station Layout and Structure

This is an underground station with side platforms, one for uptown trains and one for downtown, so pick your direction before you go through the fare gates. Street stairs come up around West 116th Street and Frederick Douglass Boulevard. Signage on the platform walls shows the line letters and destinations, and OMNY readers sit at every entrance alongside MetroCard machines.

Accessibility

This station has step-free access with lifts connecting the street, mezzanine and platform levels, so it works for wheelchair users, travellers with luggage and people with prams. Lifts can occasionally go out of service, so it is worth checking the MTA live status before you rely on one for a specific trip.

Travel Tips

• Check whether you need the local C or an express A before boarding, as the A skips several uptown stops at certain times.
• For Morningside Park and the Cathedral of St John the Divine, exit and walk east a couple of blocks toward Morningside Drive.
• Pay with a contactless tap using OMNY or a MetroCard swipe. There is no distance charge, so one flat fare covers your whole ride.

Nearby Attractions

Morningside Park - about 5 minutes on foot east. A steep, wooded park with dramatic schist cliffs, a pond and waterfall, separating Morningside Heights from Harlem.

Cathedral of St John the Divine - roughly 8 minutes on foot. One of the largest cathedrals in the world, still unfinished, with soaring Gothic and Romanesque architecture on Amsterdam Avenue.

Frederick Douglass Circle - 3 minutes on foot at the northwest corner of Central Park, with a memorial statue and fountain honouring the abolitionist.

Central Park North - within a short walk. The wilder, less crowded top end of the park, with the Harlem Meer and the Conservatory Garden nearby.

Timings and Best Time to Travel

Like the rest of the subway, this station runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, though overnight service is less frequent and you may wait longer between trains after midnight. Weekday rush hours in the morning and late afternoon are the busiest, while midday and weekends are calm at this uptown stop.