Long Island City is a rail

terminal Terminal may refer to: Computing Hardware * Terminal (electronics), a device for joining electrical circuits together * Terminal (telecommunication), a device communicating over a line * Computer terminal, a set of primary input and output dev ...

of the Long Island Rail Road in the Hunters Point and Long Island City neighborhoods of

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

, 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 Montauk Branch is a rail line owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. The branch runs the length of Long Island, 115 miles (185 km) from Long Island City on the west to Montauk on the east. Howe ...

. 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 Port Jefferson (informally known as "Port Jeff") is an incorporated village in the town of Brookhaven in Suffolk County, New York, on the North Shore of Long Island. Officially known as the Incorporated Village of Port Jefferson, the population ...

Branches via the Main Line. Until November 2012, some LIRR trains also ran via the Lower Montauk Branch to and from this station. Due to this limited service, it gets only 101 riders per week, making it the least used station in New York City.

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. The rebuilt, and fire-proof, station opened on April 26, 1903. Electric service to the station began on June 16, 1910. Before the

East River Tunnels The East River Tunnels are four single-track railroad passenger service tunnels that extend from the eastern end of Pennsylvania Station under 32nd and 33rd Streets in Manhattan and cross the East River to Long Island City in Queens. The tracks ...

were built, this station served as the terminus for Manhattan-bound passengers from Long Island, who took ferries to the

East Side of Manhattan The East Side of Manhattan refers to the side of Manhattan which abuts the East River and faces Brooklyn and Queens. Fifth Avenue, Central Park from 59th to 110th Streets, and Broadway below 8th Street separate it from the West Side. The major ...

, specifically to the

East 34th Street Ferry Landing The East 34th Street Ferry Landing provides slips to ferries and excursion boats in the Port of New York and New Jersey. It is located on the East River in New York City east of the FDR Drive just north of East 34th Street in Midtown Manhattan. ...

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. A track spur split from the Montauk Branch east of the Long Island City station, running along the south border of the station before curving north to the

North Shore Freight Branch The Flushing and North Side Railroad was a former railroad on Long Island built by Conrad Poppenhusen as a replacement for the former New York and Flushing Railroad. The railroad was established in 1868, was merged with the Central Railroad of Long ...

running between 48th and 49th Avenues, where there were connections to

car float A railroad car float or rail barge is a specialised form of lighter with railway tracks mounted on its deck used to move rolling stock across water obstacles, or to locations they could not otherwise go. An unpowered barge, it is towed by a t ...

s at what is today the Gantry Plaza State Park. These car floats carried freight trains to and from Manhattan and New Jersey until the mid-20th century. Today, ferry service is operated by

NYC Ferry NYC Ferry is a public network of ferry routes in New York City operated by Hornblower Cruises. , there are six routes, as well as one seasonal route, connecting 25 ferry piers across all five boroughs. NYC Ferry has the largest passenger fleet ...

. The station house was torn down again in 1939 for construction of the Queens–Midtown Tunnel, but continued to operate as an active station throughout the tunnel's construction and opening.

Station layout

This station has 13 tracks and three concrete high-level

island platform An island platform (also center platform, centre platform) is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange. Island platforms are popular on ...

s. 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 located within the secure area of the rail yard. All tracks without platforms are used for train storage. The southernmost six tracks are powered by

third rail A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway ...

, while the remaining are only used by diesel-powered trains.

Gallery

File:LIC LIRR trains jeh.JPG, Two trains on a Tuesday File:Long Island City station LIRR jeh.jpg, Idle on a Sunday File:LICStationWoodenPlatform.png, The wooden platform on a Wednesday morning

References

External links

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Station from Google Maps Street ViewNorthern platform (Tracks 2 & 3) from Google Maps Street ViewEntrance to Northern platform (Tracks 2 & 3) from Google Maps Street View
{{NYC terminals Long Island Rail Road stations in New York City Railroad terminals in New York City Railway stations in Queens, New York Railway stations in the United States opened in 1854 Long Island City 1854 establishments in New York (state)