North White Plains was the terminus of electric train service from the beginning of electrification of the New York Central Railroad in early twentieth century until 1984 when electrification was extended north to Brewster. Today the station continues to be a division point in the zonal service of the Harlem Line since it is where Local service on the Lower Harlem Line ends, and Upper Harlem Line trains that have run local from Southeast begin running express, stopping at White Plains before running non-stop to 125 Street. The stop is also the division point of grade-separation the Lower Harlem Line is fully grade-separated while the Upper Harlem has many grade-crossings with the first one located just north of the train yard north of the station at Virginia Road.
The station was first rebuilt in 1991, and given a facelift under Metro-North's Station Gang program in 2015, with the columns on the platform repainted from blue to green including the Arts For Transit abstract relief sculptures under the platform canopy, I wonder what the artist would say of the new paint job. On October 30, 2015, a new five story 391 space-parking garage opened across Haarlem Avenue just north of the station.
The station consists of three tracks with two island platforms. These 12 car platforms are slightly offset from each other (by less than a car), and are canopied for two-thirds of their lengths. Exiting the two island platforms is primarily from a single staircase followed by an elevator at the extreme northern ends of the platforms. These lead up to a small ticket office located in the overpass above the tracks, it is open for one weekday morning shift. From this overpass an elevator and covered staircase lead east down to a small parking lot just set back from Haarlem Avenue. To the west there is a staircase down to a larger parking lot along the Bronx River. It also provides access to the pedestrian greenway system along the Bronx River. There is also a second exit from the platforms via a pedestrian tunnel in the middle of the platforms. This tunnel is curved with cast iron rings visible and nicely covered in corrugated steel. A single staircase leads up to each platform. Elevation changes because of the fact the tracks are elevated slightly over the floodplain, no steps are required to the portal on the western Bronx River side. Exiting to Haarlem Avenue, requires a few steps.
Photos 1-9: 5 December, 2004; 10-24: 15 September, 2015; 25-37: 23 October, 2015