Howard Beach–JFK Airport
View of the subway platforms and mezzanine at night
Station statistics
Address	159th Avenue & 103rd Street Queens, New York
Borough	Queens
Locale	Howard Beach
Coordinates	40°39′37″N73°49′49″W / 40.6604°N 73.8303°W /40.6604; -73.8303
Division	B (IND, formerlyLIRRRockaway Beach Branch)[1]
Line	IND Rockaway Line
Services	A  (all times)
Transit	MTA Bus:Q11 AirTrain JFK: Howard Beach
Structure	At-grade (subway station) Elevated (AirTrain JFK station)
Platforms	2side platforms (subway station) 1island platform (AirTrain JFK station)
Tracks	4; 2 in regular service (subway station) 2 (AirTrain JFK station)
Other information
Opened	April 1913; 112 years ago (1913-04) (LIRR station)[2] December 17, 2003; 21 years ago (2003-12-17) (AirTrain JFK)
Rebuilt	June 28, 1956; 69 years ago (1956-06-28) (subway station) December 17, 2003; 21 years ago (2003-12-17) (connection to AirTrain JFK)
Accessible	ADA-accessible
Traffic
2024	975,786[3]  1.9%
Rank	297 out of 423[3]
Services Preceding station New York City Subway Following station Aqueduct–North Conduit Avenue towardInwood–207th Street Broad Channel towardFar Rockaway–Mott Avenue
Former services Preceding station Long Island Rail Road Following station Aqueduct towardWoodside Rockaway Beach Division Hamilton Beach towardGibson orRockaway Park Preceding station Brooklyn Rapid Transit Following station Ozone Park towardChambers Street Union ElevatedBroadway Line 1898–1917 Goose Creek towardRockaway Park Woodhaven Junction towardPark Row Union ElevatedFifth Avenue Line 1899–1905 Preceding station New York City Subway Following station Aqueduct Racetrack toward21st Street–Queensbridge JFK Express Terminus Jay Street–Borough Hall One-way operation
Location Show map of New York City Subway Show map of New York City Show map of New York
Track layout Legend New York City Subway (lower level) toAqueduct–North Conduit Ave toBroad Channel AirTrain JFK (upper level) to Lefferts Boulevard
Street map
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times Stops rush hours in the peak direction only

TheHoward Beach–JFK Airport station is a localsubway/people mover station complex located at Coleman Square between 159th Avenue and 103rd Street inHoward Beach, Queens. TheNew York City Subway portion of the station is on theIND Rockaway Line and is served by the Rockaway branch of theA train at all times and theRockaway Park Shuttle in the summertime on weekends during the day. TheAirTrain JFK portion of the station complex is served by the AirTrain's Howard Beach branch at all times.

The station was originally aLong Island Rail Road (LIRR) station along theRockaway Beach Branch. The LIRR station opened in 1913 to replace the nearbyRamblersville station. The LIRR ceased operations at this station in 1950, and theNew York City Transit Authority bought the section of the Rockaway Beach Branch that included this station in 1952. The subway station opened on June 28, 1956. Between 2000 and 2003, the subway station was completely reconstructed and the AirTrain JFK station was built. The rebuilt complex was completed on December 17, 2003, providing a rail link from the Howard Beach station toJFK Airport.

The station originally opened in April 1913 as aLong Island Rail Road (LIRR) station, which replaced the former 1899-builtRamblersville station that was built 0.2 miles (0.32 km) to the south.^[4] In 1923, the station was retrofitted with sheltered sheds on both sides of the tracks.^[2] On May 8, 1950, a fire broke out betweenThe Raunt andBroad Channel stations, destroying the trestle overJamaica Bay, cutting service betweenHamilton Beach and the Rockaways.^[5] The LIRR was bankrupt and unwilling to rebuild the trestle. As a result, the line was sold to theNew York City Transit Authority in 1952.^[6]

On June 27, 1955, the Howard Beach station, along with all the rest of theRockaway Beach Branch stations south of the now defunctOzone Park station, was taken out of service for eight months for restructuring and upgrading of the tracks, so that they could accommodate subway service. During the project, the Howard Beach station, along with the Broad Channel andFar Rockaway stations, was completely rebuilt utilizing a modern design, which included a new overhead passageway between the two platforms. The design was created by architect J. Harold Sandifer, a native of the Rockaways. Many of the parts for the station wereprefabricated, speeding construction.^{[7][8][9][10]} On June 28, 1956, the station reopened as a subway station along with the rest of the line. The previous Long Island Rail Road station at this location was razed. Inauguration ceremonies were held at the station as well as atEuclid Avenue in Brooklyn.^{[6][7][11][12]}

In June 1978, theMetropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) announced plans for an "experimental" subway-bus service between Manhattan and JFK Airport, terminating at the Howard Beach subway station where passengers could transfer to a free shuttle bus to the airport.^[13] TheJFK Express began operation on September 23, 1978, operating as a premium service, with riders paying the additional fare on board. The service ran express on theIND Sixth Avenue Line toWest Fourth Street–Washington Square, where it switched to theIND Eighth Avenue Line and ran express toJay Street–Borough Hall inDowntown Brooklyn. From that point on, it ran non-stop on theIND Fulton Street Line andIND Rockaway Line to Howard Beach–JFK Airport.^[14][15] In its early years, the service was more successful, with 6,000 passengers carried on the maximum day. However, the premium service lost its allure as the rest of the subway system was improved, with reduced crime and new graffiti-free trains. As a result, more passengers opted to take the slower A to Howard Beach. The JFK Express was discontinued on April 15, 1990 due to low ridership, with as few as 3,200 riders per day.^{[14][16][17][18]} The bus service, connecting the station and JFK, continued after JFK Express service ended, and was the only link between the airport and the Howard Beach station at the time.^{[15][14][19][20]} Ridership on the A to the Airport increased after the discontinuation of the JFK Express: in 1995, about 1 million passengers used the A to the Airport.^[21]: 3.14

The station was extensively reconstructed in the early 2000s, undergoing a $50 million overhaul to connect the subway station to the newAirTrain JFK. The project was designed bySTV Group and financed by thePort Authority of New York and New Jersey.^[19][22][23] During the reconstruction of the station, the original subway platforms were demolished and temporary platforms were erected in the center trackways while the new platforms and mezzanine were built. During off-peak hours, trains utilized a single track.^[24][25] The AirTrain structure around the station was completed in 2001,^[26] and the AirTrain station opened and began charging fares on December 17, 2003, at which time the free shuttle bus was discontinued.^[19][23] The transfer was popular, with 4 million people transferring between the subway and the AirTrain from 2003 to 2007.^[27] The AirTrain was designed with the same track height and track gauge as those of the subway, to facilitate a future extension of the subway over the AirTrain system.^[28]

Due to extensive damage to the IND Rockaway Line byHurricane Sandy in 2012, this was the southern terminal for A trains that normally traveled tothe Rockaways while the line south of the station was being repaired. Full service to the Rockaways was restored on May 30, 2013.^[29][30] Starting in January 2025, southbound A service to the Rockaways was again truncated to Howard Beach–JFK Airport for four months.^[31]

AirTrain platform	Track2	→ Howard Beach Train toward Terminal 8(Lefferts Boulevard) →
	Island platform withplatform doors
	Track1	→ Howard Beach Train toward Terminal 8(Lefferts Boulevard) →
	Mezzanine	Fare control, overpass, transfer between subway and AirTrain
Subway platforms	Side platform
	Northbound local	← towardInwood–207th Street(Aqueduct–North Conduit Avenue)
	Northbound express	→ No regular service
	Southbound express	→ Trackbed
	Southbound local	→ towardFar Rockaway–Mott Avenue orRockaway Park–Beach 116th Street(Broad Channel) →
	Side platform
Ground	Street level	Exit/entrance via station house Elevators at Coleman Square and 159th Avenue

The subway station is served by theA train at all times^[32] and is betweenBroad Channel to the south andAqueduct–North Conduit Avenue to the north.^[33] During the summertime on weekends during the day, theRockaway Park Shuttle is extended four stations beyond its normal northern terminus atBroad Channel toRockaway Boulevard, so the shuttle also serves this station.^[34][35] The AirTrain station is the terminus of the AirTrain's Howard Beach route; the next stop to the east is Lefferts Boulevard.^[36]

The station's mezzanine is located in a modern, temperature-controlled, glass-enclosed building above the subway platforms and tracks,^[20][22] measuring 90 feet (27 m) across,^[15] with a large stainless steel sign on either side reading "Howard Beach JFK."^[37] The mezzanine building contains a small token booth and threeturnstile banks between the subway, the AirTrain JFK, and the unpaid area.^[20][22]

The grade-level New York City Subway station has twoside platforms and four tracks with the two center express tracks not used in revenue service. The southbound express track has been severed and has permanently been removed from service, while the northbound express track is unused in regular service. South of the station, there are switches and crossovers between all four tracks before the two outer tracks merge with the center ones.^[38]: 54 The two-track line then crossesJamaica Bay toBroad Channel, which is 3.5 miles (5.6 km) to the south. The crossing is the longest stretch of line between two consecutive stations in the system.^[39][40] North of the station, the line ascends on an embankment to crossover Belt Parkway and Conduit Avenue.

Both platforms have concrete windscreens on either end and steel canopies at the portions underneath the center station building.^[41][42] The platforms are offset, with the southbound platform extending slightly to the north, and the northbound platform extending slightly further south.^[43] A set of staircases and escalators from each subway platform go up to the station building. There are also two elevators from each platform to the station building. Outside the subway's and AirTrain's fare control, two elevators lead from the station building to street level.^[20][44]

The Rockaway-bound platform has twoHigh Entry/Exit Turnstiles and one exit-only turnstile leading to a short staircase that goes down to the intersection of 159th Road and 103rd Street.^[45] The Brooklyn-bound platform has a set of emergency doors leading to the parking lot just north of the AirTrain JFK station; they are normally locked, but were in use from December 2012 to May 2013 as a connection to a temporary shuttle bus service instituted afterHurricane Sandy.^[46]

Prior to the 2000s reconstruction, the design of the station and overpass resembled that of theBroad Channel station.^[8][9][47]

TheAirTrain JFK portion of this station has two tracks and oneisland platform on the upper level of the station complex.^[38]: 104 The eastern end of the AirTrain platform leads to Parking Area C.^[48] Unlike the New York City Subway platforms, the AirTrain JFK platforms are entirely enclosed and featureplatform screen doors, which help the station maintain a constant temperature and prevent passengers from falling onto the tracks. An array of sensors detect a train's position on the track, and only when it is properly aligned will the train's doors open. This enables the AirTrain to useautomatic train operation without drivers.^[23][48]

The platform measures approximately 240 feet (73 m).^[23][48] The next stop to the southeast isLefferts Boulevard.^[48] Since it is owned by thePort Authority, it uses a separatefare control from the subway;^[49] there are no free transfers between AirTrain JFK and the subway.^[50] Passengers must pay their fare when either entering or leaving the station, as this station andJamaica are the only stations where fares are collected. MetroCard vending machines are located on both sides of fare control.^[51][50]

The exit from the complex to the Howard Beach neighborhood is on the west side, with a twisting staircase and two elevators going down to the east side of 103rd Street/Coleman Square by the T-intersection with 159th Avenue.^[52][53] A connecting bridge on the east side of the station leads into the AirTrain JFK station.^[20] TwoHigh Entry-Exit Turnstiles and one exit-only turnstile are located on the southbound subway platform and leads directly to Coleman Square. The exit on the northbound platform is exit-only, and two emergency gates lead to the parking lot for the Howard Beach–JFK Airport complex.^[52][45]

• 
  A view of the entrance to the station
• 
  View of subway platforms, with the transfer building above the platforms
• 
  The station as it appeared as it was being reconstructed to allow for a transfer toAirTrain JFK in 2003; note the temporary platform (left)
• 
  The building housing the AirTrain platforms as seen from the outside of the station
• 
  JFK AirTrain arriving at the station
• 
  Interior of the AirTrain station
• 
  New Howard Beach–JFK Airport entrance which opened for the Rockaway Rehabilitation Project in 2025
• 
  AQ121 A train shuttle bus dropping off people at the Howard Beach–JFK Airport station in 2025

Wikimedia Commons has media related toHoward Beach – JFK Airport (IND Rockaway Line).

• nycsubway.org –IND Rockaway: Howard Beach
• Howard Beach AirTrain station announcementArchived February 4, 2012, at theWayback Machine
• Entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Platforms from Google Maps Street View
• AirTrain JFK platform from Google Maps Street View

• Accessible New York City Subway stations
• IND Rockaway Line stations
• AirTrain JFK stations
• New York City Subway stations in Queens, New York
• Railway stations in the United States opened in 1956
• 1956 establishments in New York City
• John F. Kennedy International Airport
• Airport transfer railway stations in the United States
• Howard Beach, Queens

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