Long Island City | |||||||||||||||||||
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 Looking west at the Long Island City station (to the right of the fence) and yard (to its left) | |||||||||||||||||||
| General information | |||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Borden Avenue and Second Street Hunters Point andLong Island City, Queens,New York | ||||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 40°44′29″N73°57′25″W / 40.74139°N 73.95694°W /40.74139; -73.95694 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Owned by | Long Island Rail Road | ||||||||||||||||||
| Lines | Main Line Montauk Branch | ||||||||||||||||||
| Platforms | 3island platforms (two employees only) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Tracks | 13 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Connections |  New York City Subway:  atVernon Boulevard–Jackson Avenue New York City Bus:B32,B62 (at 11th Street and Jackson Avenue)MTA Bus:Q101,Q103 NYC Ferry East River, Lower East Side, and Astoria routes (at Center Boulevard and Borden Avenue) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Construction | |||||||||||||||||||
| Parking | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||
| Accessible | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||
| Other information | |||||||||||||||||||
| Station code | LIC | ||||||||||||||||||
| Fare zone | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||||||||
| Opened | June 26, 1854 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Rebuilt | 1861, 1870, 1875, 1878, 1879, April 1881, July 1891, April 26, 1903[2] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Electrified | June 16, 1910 750V (DC)third rail (Tracks 9-12 only) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Previous names | Hunter's Point | ||||||||||||||||||
| Passengers | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2012—2014 | 101 per weekday[1] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Rank | 110 of125 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Services | |||||||||||||||||||
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TheLong Island City station is a railterminal of theLong Island Rail Road in theHunters Point andLong Island City neighborhoods ofQueens, New York City. Located within theCity Terminal Zone at Borden Avenue and Second Street, it is the westernmost LIRR station in Queens and the end of both theMain Line andMontauk Branch. The station consists of one high-level passenger platform located at ground level and is wheelchair accessible.
The station is served only during weekday rush hours in the peak direction by diesel trains on theOyster Bay, Montauk, orPort Jefferson Branches via theMain Line. Until November 2012, some LIRR trains also ran via the Lower Montauk Branch to and from this station, despite all Lower Montauk Branch stations being shuttered and losing service in March 1998. Due to this limited service, it gets only 101 riders per weekday, making it the second least used LIRR station in New York City (afterMets–Willets Point).[1]
This station was built on June 26, 1854, and rebuilt seven times during the 19th century. On December 18, 1902, both the two-storystation building and office building owned by the LIRR burned down.[3] The rebuilt, and fire-proof, station opened on April 26, 1903.[4]: 13 Electric service to the station began on June 16, 1910.[citation needed]
Before theEast River Tunnels were built, this station served as the terminus for Manhattan-bound passengers from Long Island, who took ferries to theEast Side of Manhattan, specifically to theEast 34th Street Ferry Landing inMurray Hill, and theJames Slip Ferry Port in what is today part of theTwo Bridges section ofLower Manhattan. The passenger ferry service was abandoned on March 3, 1925.[5] 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 theNorth Shore Freight Branch running between 48th and 49th Avenues, where there were connections tocar floats at what is today theGantry 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 byNYC Ferry.[citation needed]
The station house was torn down again in 1939 for construction of theQueens–Midtown Tunnel, but continued to operate as an active station throughout the tunnel's construction and opening.[citation needed]
This station has 13 tracks and three concrete high-levelisland 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.[citation needed]
All tracks without platforms are used for train storage. The southernmost six tracks are powered bythird rail, while the remaining are only used by diesel-powered trains.[citation needed]
| P Platform level | Street level | Exit/entrance, ticket machine, access to ferry, buses, andsubway |
| Track0 | Storage track → | |
| Track1 | Storage track → | |
| Track2 | Port Jefferson Branch PM rush hours towardPort Jefferson(Hunterspoint Avenue) → Oyster Bay Branch PM rush hours towardOyster Bay(Hunterspoint Avenue) → Montauk Branch PM rush hours towardPatchogue,Speonk orMontauk(Hunterspoint Avenue) → | |
| Platform A,island platform | ||
| Track3 | Port Jefferson Branch PM rush hours towardPort Jefferson(Hunterspoint Avenue) → Oyster Bay Branch PM rush hours towardOyster Bay(Hunterspoint Avenue) → Montauk Branch PM rush hours towardPatchogue,Speonk orMontauk(Hunterspoint Avenue) → | |
| Track4 | Storage track → | |
| Track5 | Storage track → | |
| Track6 | Storage track → | |
| Platform B, no regular service | ||
| Track7 | Storage track → | |
| Track8 | Storage track → | |
| Platform C, no regular service | ||
| Track9 | Storage track → | |
| Track10 | Storage track → | |
| Track11 | Storage track → | |
| Track12 | Storage track → | |
