Wakefield station (Metro-North)

The station has two high-level island platforms, each four cars long, which all four tracks of the Harlem Line.{{Cite web|url=https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/2647944/Operations-Metro-North-Railroad-Track-Charts.pdf|title=Metro-North Railroad Track & Structures Department Track Charts Maintenance Program Interlocking Diagrams & Yard Diagrams 2015|date=2015|publisher=Metro-North Railroad|access-date=January 28, 2019}}{{Rp|10}} The entrances to the platforms are stairways from the north side of East 241st Street.

Five blocks east from the station is the Wakefield–241st Street station ({{NYCS White Plains Wakefield}} train) on the IRT White Plains Road Line of the New York City Subway.

The New York and Harlem Railroad laid tracks through Wakefield and Washingtonville during the mid-1840s as part of their effort to expand the line to Tuckahoe. The original name of the station was "Washingtonville," which was a segment of the neighborhood of Wakefield until the early-20th Century. Sometime between 1894 and 1905, the name of the station was changed to Wakefield, despite the fact that Washingtonville still existed as a neighborhood in the Bronx at the time. The station was the northern terminus of electrification for the Harlem Line in 1907 until it was expanded to White Plains in 1909.

The station depot burned in a fire on August 15, 1953.{{cite news|title=Fire Destroys Bronx Railroad Station, Halts Train Service Through Harlem Valley|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/18861610/wakefield_station_fire_august_16_1953/|access-date=April 2, 2018|work=The Poughkeepsie Journal|date=August 16, 1953|page=1|via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}{{Cite news|date=August 16, 1953|title=Fire Destroys Bronx Rail Station; Ties Up Harlem Division 2 Hours; Rail Station Fire Disrupts Service|language=en|page=1|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1953/08/16/archives/fire-destroys-bronx-rail-station-ties-up-harlem-division-2-hours.html|access-date=June 15, 2018}} After the fire, the New York Central petitioned the Public Service Commission (PSC) for permission to discontinue the station. It argued that the station's low ridership did not justify rebuilding the station, and that riders could use the nearby Mount Vernon or Woodlawn stations.{{Cite news|date=November 17, 1953|title=End of Station Debated; P. S. C. Hears Arguments on the Wakefield Site in Bronx|language=en|page=34|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1953/11/17/archives/end-of-station-debated-p-s-c-hears-arguments-on-the-wakefield-site.html|access-date=June 15, 2018}} On September 3, 1953, the City Manager of Yonkers said that the City of Yonkers would oppose the discontinuation of the station.{{Cite news|date=September 3, 1953|title=Yonkers Opposes Central Plan To Abandon Wakefield Station|work=The Herald Statesman|location=Yonkers, New York|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/80896991/the-herald-statesman/|access-date=July 15, 2021|via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}

On October 16, 1953, twenty commuters protested the plan to close the station at a public hearing.{{Cite news|date=October 16, 1953|title=Wakefield Station Closing Protested|work=The Daily Item|location=Port Chester, New York|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/80897006/the-daily-item/|access-date=July 15, 2021|via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}} On November 16, 1953, at the final hearing, the assistant corporation counsel of Yonkers said that the Central had given the impression that it would at a minimum construct new platforms at the station site. He also said that commuter groups and representatives of municipalities from the Bronx and Yonkers had agreed that constructing a {{Convert|150|feet|meters}}-long platform with a {{Convert|51|feet|meters}}-long canopy on each platform would be sufficient. At the hearing, the Central's attorney denied to agree to rebuild the station. The railroad considered the $28,000 cost for the project to be prohibitive. The attorney for the railroad stated building an exact reproduction of the station would cost $56,500. Constructing concrete platforms, instead of wooden platforms, would have raised the cost to $85,500.{{Cite news|date=November 17, 1953|title=Boland Accuses N.Y. Central Of Wakefield Station 'Sellout'|work=The Herald Statesman|location=Yonkers, New York|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/80896942/the-herald-statesman/|access-date=July 15, 2021|via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}

On December 14, 1953, the PSC denied the Central's petition to discontinue service, and ordered the railroad to restore service to the station by January 4, 1954, and to rebuild the station with two {{Convert|148|feet|meters}} platforms with canopies.{{Cite news|date=December 16, 1953|title=Order Wakefield Stop by Central|work=New York Daily News|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/80897001/daily-news/|access-date=July 15, 2021|via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}} In addition, stairways, and enclosures would be repaired, and signage and lighting would be installed.{{Cite news|date=December 14, 1953|title=Wakefield Station Ordered Restored|work=The Daily Item|location=Port Chester, New York|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/80896920/the-daily-item/|access-date=July 15, 2021|via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}} However, the PSC gave the Central permission to discontinue the station's part-time agent.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1953/12/16/archives/all-off-for-wakefield-psc-tells-central-to-restore-service-at-bronx.html|title=ALL OFF FOR WAKEFIELD; P.S.C. Tells Central to Restore Service at Bronx Station|date=December 16, 1953|work=The New York Times|access-date=June 15, 2018|page=31|language=en}}

High-level platforms were added to the stations in 1976, replacing lower wooden ones.

On September 29, 2013, 17-year-old Mount Saint Michael Academy student Matthew Wallace was struck and killed by a northbound train. A permanent, makeshift memorial constructed by Wallace's family and friends stands at the station's only entrance.{{Cite news|url=http://pix11.com/2014/01/07/parents-of-teen-killed-by-metro-north-train-demand-details-on-death/|title=Parents of teen killed by Metro-North train demand details on death|last=Murphy|first=Mary|date=January 7, 2014|work=WPIX 11 New York|access-date=June 15, 2018|last2=Tanner|first2=Jeremy|language=en-US}}{{Cite news|url=http://pix11.com/2014/09/30/teens-death-on-metro-north-tracks-does-not-spawn-change-one-year-later/|title=Teen's death on Metro-North tracks does not spawn change one year later|last=Murphy|first=Mary|date=September 30, 2014|work=WPIX 11 New York|access-date=June 15, 2018|language=en-US}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.lohud.com/story/news/transit/2014/06/19/parents-yonkers-teen-killed-train-seek-answers/10922079/|title=Parents of Yonkers teen killed by train seek answers|last=Juva-Brown|first=Theresa|date=June 19, 2014|work=lohud.com|access-date=June 15, 2018|language=en}}

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Category:Metro-North Railroad stations in New York City

Category:Former New York Central Railroad stations

Category:Railway stations in the Bronx

Category:Wakefield, Bronx