Far Rockaway | |||||||||||
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 An M7 train at the Far Rockaway station | |||||||||||
| General information | |||||||||||
| Location | Nameoke Avenue and Redfern Avenue Far Rockaway, Queens,New York | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 40°36′31″N73°45′03″W / 40.608610°N 73.750792°W /40.608610; -73.750792 | ||||||||||
| Owned by | Long Island Rail Road | ||||||||||
| Line | Far Rockaway Branch | ||||||||||
| Platforms | 1island platform | ||||||||||
| Tracks | 2 | ||||||||||
| Connections |  New York City Subway atFar Rockaway – Mott Avenue MTA Bus:Q22,Q113,Q114Nassau Inter-County Express:n31,n31x,n32,n33 | ||||||||||
| Construction | |||||||||||
| Parking | Yes | ||||||||||
| Accessible | yes | ||||||||||
| Other information | |||||||||||
| Fare zone | 4 | ||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||
| Opened | February 21, 1958 (current station) July 29, 1869 (original station) | ||||||||||
| Passengers | |||||||||||
| 2006 | 316[1] | ||||||||||
| Services | |||||||||||
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Far Rockaway is theterminus of theLong Island Rail Road'sFar Rockaway Branch in theFar Rockaway neighborhood ofQueens inNew York City. Thestation is located at Nameoke Avenue (formerly Nameoke Street) and Redfern Avenue.
The original Far Rockaway station was built by theSouth Side Railroad of Long Island on July 29, 1869.[2] From 1872 to 1877, the station was located in close proximity to the southern terminus of the LIRR'sCedarhurst Cut-off.[3][4] The original station house was converted into a freight house and was replaced by the second station, which was moved from Ocean Point Station (a.k.a.Cedarhurst Station), remodeled, and opened on October 1, 1881. The third depot opened on July 15, 1890, while the 2nd depot was sold and moved to a private location in October 1890. From 1897 to 1926 theOcean Electric Railway used Far Rockaway station as both the eastern terminus and as their headquarters. It also served as the terminus of aLong Island Electric Railway trolley line leading toJamaica. The tracks and platforms were elevated as with much of the Far Rockaway Branch on April 10, 1942.[2]
The Far Rockaway Branch had originally been part of a loop that traveled along the existing route, continuing through theRockaway Peninsula and heading on a trestle acrossJamaica Bay through Queens where it reconnected with theAtlantic andLower Montauk branches, and even theMain Line. Frequent fires and maintenance problems led to the LIRR abandoning the Queens portion of the route (with the exception being this station), which was acquired by the city to become theIND Rockaway Line, with service provided by theA train.[5] The line was divided with the portions from Mott Avenue becoming part of the subway system on January 16, 1958, and the current Far Rockaway station becoming not only the terminus of the LIRR branch on February 21, 1958, but also the newest station on the branch.[2][6]
Although the station is located within New York City, it was not initially part of LIRR'sCityTicket program—which provides discounted tickets for LIRR andMetro-North Railroad trips entirely within the city—as the line passes through Nassau County.[7] Residents and politicians had asked the MTA to include the station in the program.[8][9] The MTA previously stated that they are concerned about customers from other stations along the line in Nassau boarding trains at the reduced CityTicket rate.[10]
The MTA announced in May 2023 as part of wider fare changes, that a discounted ticket option would be introduced which would provide the same discounts as a regular CityTicket.[11][12] In August 2023, the special fare was unveiled and implemented as the Far Rockaway Ticket.[13] Geolocation restrictions in the TrainTime app only allow purchase of discounted tickets within the vicinity of the Far Rockaway station.[12] Paper tickets are also available from vending machines at the station.[13]
This station has one 10-car-longisland platform. North of the station, the two tracks merge, then split into four tracks––two of which are used for storage and two continue on towardsJamaica. The station house dating to 1958 was demolished in 2020.
Media related toFar Rockaway (LIRR station) at Wikimedia Commons
