The Vernon Boulevard–Jackson Avenue station (often informally referred to as Vernon–Jackson station; formerly Vernon–Jackson Avenues station) is a station on the IRT Flushing Line of the New York City Subway, and the westernmost station on the Flushing Line in Queens. It is served by the 7 train at all times and the <7> train rush hours in the peak direction. Despite its name, the station is not quite located at the intersection of Vernon Boulevard and Jackson Avenue. It is located on 50th Avenue between Vernon Boulevard and Jackson Avenue, both of which have entrances to the station. History The Dual Contracts were formalized in early 1913, specifying new lines or expansions to be built by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) and the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT). The Dual Contracts involved opening the Steinway Tunnel as part of the new Flushing subway line. The route was to go from Times Square in Manhattan, passing through the tunnel to Long Island City in Queens, then continuing toward Flushing from there. The tunnel, with trolley loops on both the Manhattan and Queens sides, had sat unused since 1907, when test runs had been performed in the then-nearly-complete tunnel. The Queens trolley loop was near Vernon Avenue (now Vernon Boulevard) in Long Island City. The Vernon–Jackson Avenues station opened on June 22, 1915, as a terminal for shuttle trains going into Manhattan via the Steinway Tunnel until the line was extended to Hunters Point Avenue on February 5, 1916. A westerly extension of the Manhattan-bound platform opened for service on December 20, 1923. The city government took over the IRT's operations on June 12, 1940. The IRT routes were given numbered designations in 1948 with the introduction of "R-type" rolling stock, which contained rollsigns with numbered designations for each service. The route from Times Square to Flushing became known as the 7. In 1949, the New York City Board of Transportation announced that the Flushing Line platforms would be lengthened to 11 IRT car lengths; the platforms were only able to fit nine 51-foot-long IRT cars beforehand. The platforms at the station were extended in 1955–1956 to accommodate 11-car trains. However, nine-car trains continued to run on the 7 route until 1962, when they were extended to ten cars. In 1981, the MTA listed the station among the 69 most deteriorated stations in the subway system. 1997 station agent murder In