Construction and opening The
Dual Contracts, which were signed on March 19, 1913, were contracts for the construction and/or rehabilitation and operation of rapid transit lines in the
City of New York. The contracts were "dual" in that they were signed between the City and two separate private companies (the
Interborough Rapid Transit Company and the
Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company), all working together to make the construction of the Dual Contracts possible. The Dual Contracts promised the construction of several lines in the Bronx. As part of Contract 3, the IRT agreed to build an elevated line along Jerome Avenue in the Bronx. In April 1915, the
New York Public Service Commission voted to change the planned name of the station from 200th Street to Bedford Park Boulevard. The first part of the line opened on June 2, 1917 as a shuttle service between Kingsbridge Road and 149th Street, in advance of through service to the
IRT Lexington Avenue Line, which began on July 17, 1918. Bedford Park Boulevard–200th Street station opened on April 15, 1918 as part of the final extension of the IRT Jerome Avenue Line from
Kingsbridge Road to
Woodlawn. This section was initially served by shuttle service, with passengers transferring at 167th Street. The construction of the line encouraged development along Jerome Avenue, and led to the growth of the surrounding communities.
Later years This station was renovated in the Summer–Fall 2006. During this time, the street level mezzanine area and the platforms were renovated. The platforms had yellow tactile edge warning strips installed, and the IRT directional tablets inside
fare control have been preserved. Until the 2006 renovation, the downtown platform had several old small
200 signs behind a chain-link fence toward the front of the platform; however, they were removed. Until renovations in 2006, it was the only station in the entire subway system and along the
IRT Jerome Avenue Line to have a barbed wire fence on a platform–the Manhattan bound platform. This was added in an earlier renovation from the 1980s with the intent of preventing graffiti artists from tagging the 4 train. The barbed wire fence was completely removed from the Manhattan-bound platform during renovations. From October 26, 2009 to December 11, 2009, a pilot program had five southbound 4 trains running express in the AM rush hour. Although Bedford Park Boulevard is not designed as an express station, the trains used a
switch for the express track south of the station. ==Station layout==