Astoria Blvd (N,W) - The SubwayNut

Astoria Blvd-Hoyt Ave is the second to last stop on the Astoria Line and located directly above the entrance to the Triborough Bridge. It is the one express stop on the line with two island platforms for the 3 track line. The stop was the W Lines only stop between Queensboro Plaza and Ditmars Blvd, when W trains ran express during weekdays peak direction, from July 22, 2001, the date of the Manhattan Bridge flip and introduction of the W train, until January 15, 2002 when Astoria Line express discontinued because it was unpopular with commuters, resulting in empty W trains and crowded N trains because the local stops have such high ridership.

The two island platforms give an amazing view of the entrance plaza of the Triborough Bridge and are canopied near their midsections but exposed at either end. Each platform has two staircases in the middle and just south of the middle of the platforms, these each lead to a separate free change of direction cross under and two separate banks of turnstiles with the token booth in between them. One entrance to the turnstiles along each platform is through enclosures with little windows that provides a bit of a waiting shelter. The station house is also measly enclosed by wind-screened dividers on each of the two sides of the fare control area. Here no doors, making it not really feel like a station house, lead out to what are signed as overpasses (along with the subway entrance) across the entrance plaza to the Triborough Bridge. Beneath each side of the subway elevated structure a staircase leads down at each of the four far apart corners of this huge plaza along the two roadways of Astoria Blvd, the service roads of the Grand Central Parkway, and 31 Street. The entire relatively large station feels in disrepair with lots of peeling green paint. The station was closed for a full Cuomo’s Sexy Station refurbishment including the installation of 4 elevators were installed to make the station ADA compliant from Mary 17, 2019 through December 18, 2019.
Photos 1 & 2: October 10, 2003; 3-5: December 17, 2004; 6-12: January 17, 2005; 14-36: August 5, 2009; 37: September 3, 2012

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An entrance staircase with the W missing a bullet

The Triborough Bridge is visible through the mist from the station platform

Looking up at a train of R40 Slants stopping in the station while waiting for the M60 bus to LGA Airport

The sun glistens off of R40 Slant #4364 stopped in the station

The M60 bus to LGA Airport pulls to its stop beneath a train of R40 Slants stopping in the station

A R68 N train lays-up on the middle track on a snowy weekend

The snow dusted Astoria Blvd Station

An in service R68 N train passes out of service ones

Just south of Astoria Blvd (N,W): An uptown R-68 N train waits for a red signal, R-68 #5056 lays up in the center track and a downtown R-44S W train has just left.

A snow dusted Astoria Blvd platform

The el crossing over the entrance plaza to the Triborough Bridge has a billboard fittingly for Delta Air Lines since this is the route to both LGA and JFK Airports