Marble Hill is located on the Harlem River just after trains coming north go under the Broadway Bridge. The station, located in the Marble Hill neighborhood is technically in Manhattan. This tiny area is located in Manhattan because it was once part of the island, before the Harlem River Ship canal was built. The virgin Harlem River tidal estuary here was non-navigable in this area and ran a bit farther north, this was eventually filled in leaving this geographic oddity. The station is a convenient connection to the 1 subway lines at 225 Street-Marble Hill meaning it is a common transfer point. In terms of ridership, only a small minority use the station to ride into Grand Central, most of the ridership comes from the north and gets off at the station to transfer the subway. These riders also pay significantly cheaper (up to $4 to $8) intermediate fares to their design compared to Grand Central. The station is located near the level of the Harlem River with 225th Street 30 feet above on top of a rocky bluff.
Service to the station has always been decent with off-peak service today from the two electric trains per hour, one local and one semi-express stopping at the station. As of 2013 all Poughkeepsie-bound express trains now bypass the station (except for a couple of reverse peak AM trips), under the previous off-peak schedule of just two trains per hour with an electric local and Poughkeepsie-bound dual-mode, diesel semi-express saw most trains to Poughkeepsie stopping at Marble Hill, the new schedule means Marble Hill riders going north of Croton-Harmon face longer travel times of about 21 minutes with a local ride the entire way.
The station was rebuilt between 2004 to 2005 but didn't receive an elevator because there isn't a practical way to build one due to the unique topography. During the rebuilding of the station a temporary platform was built from the current station overpass entrance towards the Broadway Bridge. This temporary wooden platform was unique. It was located on a curve with just four wooden boarding areas up a couple steps for only the first two cars; the rest of this temporary platform had wooden fencing.
The current platform is a narrow single island platform between the north two tracks, just beyond the end of the platform the tracks switch from three to briefly become two beneath a platform on stilts that houses the amenities for an apartment tower. The station can accommodate only four cars. Three quarters of this platform has a canopy with a narrow enclosed waiting area with doors on each end. To leave the platform at its eastern end is a staircase (completely enclosed) that leads most of the distance up the bluff. At an intermediate landing, doors lead into an enclosed area where the station's TVMs are. It ends with a shorter staircase directly up the steep cliff up to the sidewalk of 225 Street just west of the T-intersection of Marble Hill Lane, Broadway is the next street over and this is where the 225 Street-Marble Hill Subway Station high above.
Photos 1-8: 28 December, 2004; 9-14: 6 June, 2004; 15-16: 26 April, 2005; 18-21: 12 February, 2006; 22-30: 17 June, 2005; 31 & 32: 17 March, 2006; 33-39: 27 December, 2010; 40-41: 29 August, 2011; 42-51: 19 July, 2013;; 52-60: 5 July, 2014, 61: 2 November, 2012
Spuyten Duyvil 