Long Island City station

Long Island City
Looking west at the station (to the right of the fence) and yard (to the left); the brick building to the right is ventilation for the Queens Midtown Tunnel.
Location Borden Avenue and Second Street
Long Island City, Queens, New York
Coordinates 40°44′29″N 73°57′25″W / 40.74139°N 73.95694°W / 40.74139; -73.95694Coordinates: 40°44′29″N 73°57′25″W / 40.74139°N 73.95694°W / 40.74139; -73.95694
Owned by Long Island Rail Road
Line(s) Main Line
Montauk Branch
Platforms 3 island platforms (two unused)
Tracks 14
Connections New York City Subway:
"7" train "7" express train​ at Vernon Boulevard – Jackson Avenue
MTA Bus: Q103
NYC Ferry
Construction
Parking Yes
Other information
Fare zone 1
History
Opened June 26, 1854
Closed December 18, 1902
Rebuilt 1861, 1870, 1875, 1878, 1879, April 1881, July 1891, April 26, 1903[1]
Electrified June 16, 1910
750 V (DC) third rail (Tracks 9-12 only)
Previous names Hunter's Point
Traffic
Passengers (2006) 115[2]
Services
Preceding station   LIRR   Following station
TerminusCity Terminal Zone
toward Long Island

Long Island City is a rail terminal of the Long Island Rail Road in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens, New York City. Located within the City Terminal Zone at Borden Avenue and Second Street, it is the westernmost LIRR station in Queens and the end of both the Main Line and Montauk Branch. The station consists of one passenger platform located at ground level and is wheelchair accessible.

Service

The station is served only during weekday rush hours in the peak direction by diesel trains from the Oyster Bay, Montauk, or Port Jefferson Branches via the Main Line. Until November 2012, some LIRR trains also ran via the Lower Montauk Branch to and from this station.

History

This station was built on June 26, 1854, and rebuilt seven times during the 19th Century. On December 18, 1902, both the two-story station building and office building owned by the LIRR burned down.[3] The rebuilt, and fire-proof, station opened on April 26, 1903.[4]:13 Electric service to the station began on June 16, 1910.

Before the East River Tunnels were built, this station served as the terminus for Manhattan-bound passengers from Long Island, who took ferries to the East Side of Manhattan, specifically to the East 34th Street Ferry Landing in Murray Hill, and the James Slip Ferry Port in what is today part of the Two Bridges section of Lower Manhattan. The passenger ferry service was abandoned on March 3, 1925, although freight was carried by car floats through what is today the Gantry Plaza State Park to and from Manhattan until the middle 20th century.[5] Today, ferry service is operated by NYC Ferry. The station house was torn down again in 1939 for construction of the Queens–Midtown Tunnel, but still continued to operate as an active station, as it does today.

Station layout

This station has 13 tracks and three concrete high-level island platforms. The northernmost platform, Platform A, is two cars long and is accessible from Borden Avenue just west of Fifth Street. Platforms B and C are used by employees only, and are only accessible from the secured area of the rail yard.

All tracks without platforms are used for train storage. The southernmost four tracks are powered by third rail, while the remaining are only used by diesel-powered trains.

G Street level Exit/entrance, ticket machine, access to ferry, buses, and "7" train train
P
Platform level		 Track 0 (diesel power) No regular service→
Track 1 (diesel power) No regular service →
Track 2 (diesel power) Main Line toward Long Island destinations via Jamaica (Hunterspoint Avenue) →
Platform A (passenger operations)
Track 3 (diesel power) Main Line toward Long Island destinations via Jamaica (Hunterspoint Avenue) →
Track 3X (diesel power) No regular service →
Track 5 (diesel power) No regular service →
Track 6 (diesel power) No regular service →
Platform B (employees only)
Track 7 (diesel power) No regular service →
Track 8 (diesel power) No regular service →
Platform C (employees only)
Track 9 (third rail) No regular service →
Track 10 (third rail) No regular service →
Track 11 (third rail) No regular service →
Track 12 (third rail) No regular service →

References

  1. ↑ Long Island Rail Road Alphabetical Station Listing and History (TrainsAreFun.com) Archived January 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
  2. ↑ Average weekday, 2006 LIRR Origin and Destination Study
  3. ↑ "Long Island City Station Is Burned". The New York Times. December 19, 1902. p. 1. Retrieved May 30, 2010.
  4. ↑ The Long Island Railroad Thirtieth Annual Report For The Year Ending December 31st, 1903. Long Island Railroad Company. 1904.
  5. ↑ "34th Street Ferry Abandoned After 67 Years". The New York Times. March 4, 1925. p. 21. Retrieved May 30, 2010.
  • Harrison, Richard J. (1981). Long Island Rail Road Memories: The Making of a Steam Locomotive Engineer. New York: Quadrant Press. p. 53. ISBN 0-915276-36-4.
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