Port Washington Branch
A Port Washington Branch train enters thePlandome station
Overview
Status	Operational
Owner	Long Island Rail Road
Locale	Queens andNassau County,New York, U.S.
Termini	Woodside Port Washington
Stations	13
Service
Type	Commuter rail
System	Long Island Rail Road
Operator(s)	Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Daily ridership	27,202 (2023)
Ridership	9,928,915 (2023)[1]
History
Opened	1854 (asFlushing Railroad)
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)standard gauge
Electrification	Third rail, 750 V DC
Route map Show interactive map Legend West Side Yard Northeast Corridor toWashington, D.C. 0mi Penn Station Grand Central East River Tunnels 3.7 mi 1.8 mi Main Line toLong Island City Sunnyside Yard Northeast Corridor toBoston South 3.1 mi 5 km Woodside ​ Winfield Junction(closed) Main Line towardJamaica Elmhurst(closed) Corona(closed) West Flushing(closed) 6.7 mi 10.8 km Mets–Willets Point ​ Whitestone Branch Zone 1 Zone 3 7.5 mi 12.1 km Flushing–Main Street ​ 8.4 mi 13.5 km Murray Hill 9.2 mi 14.8 km Broadway 9.9 mi 15.9 km Auburndale 10.8 mi 17.4 km Bayside 12.1 mi 19.5 km Douglaston 12.7 mi 20.4 km Little Neck Queens Nassau Zone 3 Zone 4 13.8 mi 22.2 km Great Neck Manhasset Viaduct 15.4 mi 24.8 km Manhasset 16.5 mi 26.6 km Plandome 18.1 mi 29.1 km Port Washington [2] This diagram: view talk edit Show route diagram map

ThePort Washington Branch is anelectrified, mostly double-trackedrail line and service owned and operated by theLong Island Rail Road in theU.S. state ofNew York. It branches north from theMain Line at the formerWinfield Junction station, just east of theWoodside station in theNew York Cityborough ofQueens, and runs roughly parallel toNorthern Boulevard pastMets-Willets Point (Citi Field),Flushing,Murray Hill,Broadway,Auburndale,Bayside,Douglaston,Little Neck, and then crosses intoNassau County for stops inGreat Neck,Manhasset, andPlandome before terminating atPort Washington.^[3][4]

The Port Washington Branch is the only LIRR branch to not serveJamaica – a major LIRR transportation hub – as it branches off the Main Line at Winfield Junction, several miles northwest of Jamaica. Thus, passengers seeking to switch to other LIRR services without going into Manhattan must instead transfer atWoodside station.

The line has two tracks from Woodside to Great Neck and one track from east of Great Neck pastManhasset andPlandome stations to Port Washington. This often causes slight delays to one train to spread to other trains. A second track cannot be added through Manhasset and Plandome due to the proximity of businesses to the narrow right-of-way in Manhasset, and the fact that theManhasset Viaduct, which carries the line between Great Neck and Manhasset, has only one track.^[5]

Most peak-hour trains are either local between Manhattan andGreat Neck (making all stops) or express between Manhattan andPort Washington (making stops only atBayside, Great Neck, Manhasset, Plandome station, and Port Washington, although a few morning express trains run nonstop between Great Neck and Penn Station).^[6]

Extra service is offered during theU.S. Open tennis tournament and forNew York Mets home games, both of which are held inFlushing Meadows–Corona Park. These trains primarily pick up and discharge passengers at theMets–Willets Point station between Woodside andFlushing Main Street; formerly a station used exclusively for events, Mets–Willets Point has been open full-time since April 2023.^[7]

The route also runs over theManhasset Viaduct, a hightrain trestle over the marshes at the southern end of Manhasset Bay. The bridge stands 81 feet (25 m) tall and runs 678 feet (207 m) across the bay, offering a view of the Manhasset Bay. Scenes from theHearst-producedsilent film serial "The Perils of Pauline" are said to have been shot on the trestle.^[8]

There is only one grade crossing on the Port Washington Branch, located atLittle Neck Parkway, at the west end of theLittle Neck Station.

The Port Washington Branch was built by theFlushing Railroad, in 1854 fromHunters Point inLong Island City toFlushing, before the LIRR opened its line to Long Island City. It was the first non-LIRR line on Long Island. The company was reorganized in 1859 as theNew York and Flushing Railroad, and established a subsidiary known as the North Shore Railroad to extend the line from Flushing toGreat Neck in 1866.

Originally intending to run further east toRoslyn,Oyster Bay, and evenHuntington, the NY&F's plans were thwarted by the LIRR, who reached those destinations first – as well as poor service and competition with the 1868-establishedFlushing and North Side Railroad. In 1869, theNew York State Legislature authorized the Flushing and North Side to purchase the New York and Flushing east of the LIRR crossing atWinfield Station, while the segment between Hunters Point and Winfield was acquired by theSouth Side Railroad of Long Island until it was abandoned for passenger service east of what was to become the formerLaurel Hill Station in 1875. Part of the right-of-way ran through what is today theMount Zion Jewish Cemetery inMaspeth.^[9]

By 1874, all branches of the Flushing and North Side Railroad, including the Main Line to Great Neck were incorporated into theFlushing, North Shore and Central Railroad, which included theCentral Railroad of Long Island. Two years later, it would become part of the Long Island Rail Road, which closed the line east of Flushing in 1881 and reopened it a year later as subsidiary known as theLong Island City and Flushing Railroad. The LIC&F was merged with the LIRR on April 2, 1889.^[10]

Despite a failed attempt to extend the line from Great Neck toRoslyn in 1882, wealthyPort Washington residents persuaded the LIRR to bring the terminus to their hometown in 1895. This required the construction of theManhasset Viaduct over the marshes at the southern end ofManhasset Bay, which was authorized by an LIRR subsidiary called theGreat Neck and Port Washington Railroad (GN&PW).^[11] According to Manhasset's website, "in 1897, a contract was given to theCarnegie Steel Company and a subsidiary, the King Iron Company, undertook the job of constructing the bridge." The trestle bridge cost about $60,000 (equal to $2,267,760 today), and the first train to cross it was on June 23, 1898. The GN&PW was disestablished as a subsidiary in 1902, and that segment simply became part of the Port Washington Branch.

Two other early 20th-century stations built on the Port Washington Branch were inAuburndale (1901) andPlandome (1909). The branch was electrified from the Main Line toWinfield Junction by June 23, 1910, thence to Whitestone Junction – and onto theWhitestone Branch to Whitestone Landing Station – by October 22, 1912, and thence further east along the Port Washington Branch to its terminus in Port Washington by October 21, 1913.^[12] In 1910, theNew York Public Service Commission approved the LIRR's application to eliminate grade crossings along the line. These projects were prerequisites for the extension of the line's second track to Great Neck and Whitestone – as well as for the electrification of the line.^{[13]: 21–22}

Grade crossing elimination projects took place during the 1910s and 1920s in Queens and Nassau County. These grade elimination projects included unique station reconstruction in places such asMurray Hill which had a station house builtover the tracks andGreat Neck which had an elaborate plaza built around it. In 1929, the station at Winfield Junction was eliminated, makingWoodside Station the transfer point between Main Line and Port Washington Branch trains.

Despite the elimination of theWhitestone Branch in 1932, as well as Flushing–Bridge Street station, the Flushing station on the Port Washington Branch retained the name "Flushing-Main Street station." A newinfill station was built just in time for the1939 New York World's Fair; it was then reused for theUnited Nations, thence the1964 New York World's Fair and simultaneouslyShea Stadium, for which it would be renamed in 1966. This station – now known asMets–Willets Point – was the last station to be built on the line. By 1985, whenElmhurst station closed, Shea Stadium station would also become the westernmost station on the Port Washington Branch before the junction with the Main Line.

In January 1987, the station building at the Plandome station was burned to the ground by vandals, in an overnightarson attack.^[14][15] Following the fire, the station building was rebuilt as a more modern version of the original.^[15][16]

In conjunction with theEast Side Access project, the MTA proposed two readiness projects that they said will increase capacity on the Port Washington Branch. The first was the extension of a pocket track east ofGreat Neck station, located between the station and where the line becomes single-tracked. The pocket track was extended eastward by 1,200 feet (370 m) to allow for storage of a second trainset, in addition to the one that the original pocket track could store. The construction of the pocket track was originally scheduled for completion in December 2018 at a total cost of $45.2 million.^[17] However, the completion date was pushed back several times;^{[18]: 60 [19]: 59} construction of the extended pocket track would ultimately be completed in December 2022.^[20] Alongside this project, a new bridge was built at Colonial Road near Great Neck station; it opened in May 2016 and replaced a 114-year-old span.^{[21][22][23][24][25]}

The second of the two readiness projects is the expansion of Port Washington Yard, next to Port Washington station. The project would allow up to nine more trains to be added to the schedule to and from Grand Central Terminal and Penn Station.^[26] As of 2017^[update], construction was scheduled to begin in late 2020 or early 2021, at a cost of $500,000.^[17][27] However, this project met significant community opposition, primarily because of proposed reduction of parking spaces in thePort Washington Parking District's parking facilities near the station.^[28] As of September 2022^[update], the MTA had not reached an agreement with theTown of North Hempstead,^[18]: 65 resulting in the project being postponed indefinitely.^{[29][19]: 61}

On July 9, 2024, the sides agreed to a memorandum of understanding ("MOU"), under which the LIRR would study expanding the yard.^[30][31] That evening, a meeting – at which the MOU was unanimously approved – was held on the matter atNorth Hempstead Town Hall inManhasset.^[30][31] At the meeting, North Hempstead Councilwoman Mariann Dalimonte (D–Port Washington) stated – in response to a question from a member of the public – that she and Town SupervisorJennifer S. DeSena (R–Manhasset) had expressed the concern as to whether or not there would be any service improvements from this project to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which oversees the LIRR. Dalimonte stated that the town had asked the MTA to ensure that services would be expanded if the project is completed, but the MTA said they could not guarantee it.^[31] The project is scheduled to be completed by December 2029.^[30]

Between January and September 2025, theWebster Avenue Bridge – crossing over the Port Washington Branch betweenFlower Hill andPlandome Heights, at a point located roughly halfway between the Manhasset and Plandome stations – was replaced with a modern span.^[32][33] Originally constructed in the late 1890s, the original bridge had become structurally obsolete and unsound.^[32][33] The original bridge was closed on January 6 of that year, to enable crews to demolish it and build the new span in its place;Plandome Pond Park – located adjacent to the bridge at its west end in Plandome Heights – was used as a staging area for the construction work.^[34][35] The replacement span opened in September 2025; the project was completed ahead of schedule and $7.6 million under budget.^[36]

West ofWoodside, all trips go on to terminate atPenn Station orGrand Central.^[4]

Zone[37]	Location	Station name	Miles (km) fromLong Island City[2]	Date opened	Date closed	Connections and notes
1	Woodside, Queens	Woodside	3.1 (5.0)	1869[38]		Long Island Rail Road:■ City Terminal Zone New York City Subway:​ (at61st Street–Woodside) New York City Bus:Q32 MTA Bus:Q18,Q53 SBS,Q70 SBS
	Maspeth, Queens	Winfield Junction		1854	1929
	Elmhurst, Queens	Elmhurst		1855	1985	Originally named Newtown
	Corona, Queens
		Corona		1853	1964	Originally named Fashion Race Course, then West Flushing
		West Flushing		1854
		Mets–Willets Point	6.7 (10.8)	1939		New York City Subway:​ (atMets–Willets Point) New York City Bus:Q90 Originally named World's Fair, then United Nations, then World's Fair again, thenShea Stadium.
3	Flushing, Queens	Flushing–Main Street	7.5 (12.1)	1854[38]		New York City Subway:​ (atFlushing–Main Street) New York City Bus:Q12,Q13,Q15,Q16,Q17,Q20,Q27,Q44 SBS,Q58,Q61,Q90,Q98 MTA Bus:Q19,Q25,Q26,Q28,Q50,Q63,Q65,Q66 Nassau Inter-County Express:n20G, n20x Originally named Flushing
		Murray Hill	8.4 (13.5)	1889		New York City Bus:Q13,Q15 Nassau Inter-County Express:n20G, n20x
		Broadway	9.2 (14.8)	1866[38]		New York City Bus:Q12,Q13,Q28 Nassau Inter-County Express:n20G, n20x Originally named Flushing–Broadway
	Auburndale, Queens	Auburndale	9.9 (15.9)	1901		New York City Bus:Q12,Q13,Q28,Q76 Nassau Inter-County Express:n20G, n20x
	Bayside, Queens	Bayside	10.8 (17.4)	1886[38]		New York City Bus:Q12,Q13,Q31 Nassau Inter-County Express:n20G, n20x Originally named Bay Side
	Douglaston–Little Neck, Queens	Douglaston	12.1 (19.5)	1866[38]		New York City Bus:Q12 Nassau Inter-County Express:n20G, n20x Originally named Little Neck
		Little Neck	12.7 (20.4)	1870[38]		New York City Bus:Q12,Q36 Nassau Inter-County Express:n20G, n20x
4	Great Neck Plaza	Great Neck	13.8 (22.2)	1866[38]		Nassau Inter-County Express:n20G,n20H,n21,n25,n26,n57,n58 Originally named Brookdale
	Manhasset	Manhasset	15.4 (24.8)	1899		Nassau Inter-County Express:n20H,n21, n20x
	Plandome	Plandome	16.5 (26.6)	1909
	Port Washington	Port Washington	18.1 (29.1)	1898		Nassau Inter-County Express:n23

• History of the Long Island Rail Road
• Whitestone Branch

EnglishWikisource has original text related to this article:

The Long Island Rail Road: A Comprehensive History, Part Two: The Flushing, North Shore & Central Railroad

Media related toPort Washington Branch (category) at Wikimedia Commons

• MTA Long Island Rail Road
• Port Washington Branch Stations (Bob Andersen's Unofficial LIRR History Website)
• NYCSubway.org: Port Washington Branch
• Forgotten New York:
  • Pride in Port (The Jekyll & Hyde Branch of the Long Island Railroad: Part One)
  • Pride in Port (The Jekyll & Hyde Branch of the Long Island Railroad: Part Two)
• Port Washington Branch (The LIRR Today)

• Long Island Rail Road branches
• Transportation in Queens, New York
• Transportation in Nassau County, New York
• Surface transportation in Greater New York
• Cow Neck Peninsula
• 1854 establishments in New York (state)
• 1898 establishments in New York (state)

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