86th Street station (BMT Sea Beach Line)

The station opened on June 22, 1915, as part of an expanded Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company operation to Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue.^[2][6] Between 2001 and 2005, the station was known as Gravesend–86th Street when N trains originated/terminated here while the Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue terminal was reconstructed.^[7] Some destination signage continues to use this name.^[8]

From January 18, 2016 to May 22, 2017, the Manhattan-bound platform at this station was closed for renovations.^[9][10] The Coney Island-bound platform was closed from July 31, 2017^[11][12] to October 29, 2018.^[13]

Between October 21, 2019 and Spring 2020, N trains terminated here so work could be completed to protect Coney Island Yard from flooding. An out-of-system transfer was available between the N at 86th Street and the F at Avenue X station.^[14]

G	Street level	Station house, entrances/exits, station agent, MetroCard machines
P Platform level	Side platform
	Northbound local	← toward Astoria–Ditmars Boulevard (Avenue U) ← toward 96th Street (select weekday trips) (Avenue U) ← toward Astoria–Ditmars Boulevard (select weekday trips) (Avenue U)
	Northbound express	← No regular service
	Southbound express	← No regular service
	Southbound local	→ toward Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue (Terminus) → → termination track (select weekday trips) →
	Side platform

The station has four tracks and two side platforms. The two center express tracks are not normally used, but both are available for rerouted trains. To the south of the station, the four tracks merge into two tracks and there is a connection to the Coney Island Complex.^[15] As of 2013^[update], the Manhattan and Coney Island express tracks have been replaced with new track beds and new third rail protection boards.^{[citation needed]}

There is a building on the Coney Island-bound platform for non-public uses. Like many other stations on the Sea Beach Line, the platforms are dilapidated and have paint-chipped columns. At the southern end of the station there is a pedestrian bridge for employees only that provides access to Coney Island Yard. South of the station the line exits the open cut and runs at-grade. Portions of the platform are located beneath 86th Street.^[16]

The 2018 artwork at this station is "Celebration", a glass mosaic made by Karen Margolis. The artwork highlights the connection between the neighborhood and commuters.^[17]

The only entrance to the station is through a station house at 86th Street between West 8th and West 7th Streets, and it has a crossover between platforms.^[4] There is an employee-only crossover between the platforms on the south end of the station; it is unknown if this crossover was part of a former second entrance, as the bridge also leads to a path to the nearby Coney Island Yard.^[18]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 86th Street (BMT Sea Beach Line).

• nycsubway.org – BMT Sea Beach Line: 86th Street
• Station Reporter — N Train
• The Subway Nut — 86th Street Pictures Archived January 5, 2018, at the Wayback Machine
• 86th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Platforms from Google Maps Street View (During 2016-2018 Rebuild)
• Southern end of the platforms from Google Maps Street View