Long Island City station

The Long Island City station is a rail terminal of the Long Island Rail Road in the Hunters Point and Long Island City neighborhoods 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.

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.
General information
Location	Borden Avenue and Second Street Hunters Point and Long Island City, Queens, New York
Coordinates	40°44′29″N 73°57′25″W
Owned by	Long Island Rail Road
Line(s)	Main Line Montauk Branch
Platforms	3 island platforms (two employees only)
Tracks	13
Connections	New York City Subway: ​ at Vernon Boulevard–Jackson Avenue New York City Bus: B32, B62 (at 11th Street and Jackson Avenue) MTA Bus: Q103 NYC Ferry East River, Lower East Side, and Astoria routes (at Center Boulevard and Borden Avenue)
Construction
Parking	Yes
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Fare zone	1
History
Opened	June 26, 1854
Rebuilt	1861, 1870, 1875, 1878, 1879, April 1881, July 1891, April 26, 1903
Electrified	June 16, 1910 750 V (DC) third rail (Tracks 9-12 only)
Previous names	Hunter's Point
Passengers
2012—2014	101
Rank	110 of 125
Services
Preceding station Long Island Rail Road Following station Terminus Port Jefferson Branch limited service Hunterspoint Avenue toward Port Jefferson Oyster Bay Branch limited service Hunterspoint Avenue toward Oyster Bay Montauk Branch limited service Hunterspoint Avenue toward Montauk
Former services Preceding station Long Island Rail Road Following station Terminus Main Line Hunterspoint Avenue toward Greenport Montauk Division Penny Bridge toward Montauk
Location

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. Due to this limited service, it gets only 101 riders per week, making it the second least used LIRR station in New York City (after Mets–Willets Point).

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

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

P Platform level	Street level	Exit/entrance, ticket machine, access to ferry, buses, and subway
	Track 0	Storage track →
	Track 1	Storage track →
	Track 2	Port Jefferson Branch PM rush hours toward Port Jefferson (Hunterspoint Avenue) →      Oyster Bay Branch PM rush hours toward Oyster Bay (Hunterspoint Avenue) →      Montauk Branch PM rush hours toward Patchogue, Speonk or Montauk (Hunterspoint Avenue) →
	Platform A, island platform
	Track 3	Port Jefferson Branch PM rush hours toward Port Jefferson (Hunterspoint Avenue) →      Oyster Bay Branch PM rush hours toward Oyster Bay (Hunterspoint Avenue) →      Montauk Branch PM rush hours toward Patchogue, Speonk or Montauk (Hunterspoint Avenue) →
	Track 4	Storage track →
	Track 5	Storage track →
	Track 6	Storage track →
	Platform B, no regular service
	Track 7	Storage track →
	Track 8	Storage track →
	Platform C, no regular service
	Track 9	Storage track →
	Track 10	Storage track →
	Track 11	Storage track →
	Track 12	Storage track →

Gallery

• Long Island City
• 
  Two trains on a Tuesday
• 
  Idle on a Sunday
• 
  The wooden platform on a Wednesday morning

References

• 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.

External links

• Long Island City – LIRR
• Long Island City LIRR timetable
• Station from Google Maps Street View
• Northern platform (Tracks 2 & 3) from Google Maps Street View
• Entrance to Northern platform (Tracks 2 & 3) from Google Maps Street View