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Montauk Branch
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Montauk Branch
The Montauk Branch is a rail line owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. The line runs the length of Long Island, 115 miles (185 km) from Long Island City to Montauk.
In LIRR maps and schedules for public use, the term Montauk Branch is used only for the train service stopping at stations at Babylon and eastwards, some of which actually use the Main Line and Central Branch to and from Jamaica during peak hours. Service along the physical Montauk Branch between Jamaica and Babylon is covered by the separate Babylon Branch service. The line west of Jamaica is currently unused for passenger service.
The westernmost portion of the Montauk Branch in Queens, known as the "Lower Montauk," runs between the Long Island City and Jamaica stations, mostly at street level with grade crossings. East of the Long Island City station, the abandoned Montauk Cutoff merges with the branch, after both cross Dutch Kills. The Lower Montauk Branch had nine stations, four of which were closed by 1940. The remaining five stations (Richmond Hill, Glendale, Fresh Pond, Haberman, and Penny Bridge) were closed on March 13, 1998, due to low ridership and incompatibility with then-new C3 bi-level coach cars that can only use high platforms (only Richmond Hill had an actual platform; the other four stations' platforms were just pavement strips beside the tracks). After these stations closed, the LIRR continued to use the Lower Montauk to operate non-stop trains between Jamaica and Long Island City rather than divert them to the Main Line; there were only two such trains at the time of the 1998 station closures, one westbound in the morning, and one eastbound in the evening. These two trains were re-routed north to Hunterspoint Avenue in 2012, effectively ceasing passenger train service on the Lower Montauk. Soon after, full control of the Lower Montauk was transferred to the New York and Atlantic Railway for freight operations.
The New York City Department of Transportation has periodically floated proposals to repurpose the Lower Montauk Branch for rapid transit operations. In 1984, the Department studied an option to connect the branch to the New York City Subway through a proposed connection to the IND 63rd Street Line in Long Island City. This proposal was unpopular in the communities surrounding the branch. In 2017, the Department studied a plan to operate light rail service on the Lower Montauk Branch.
After Penn Station opened in 1910, the Lower Montauk became primarily a freight route, and when the present Jamaica station opened in 1913, the two Lower Montauk tracks continued past the south side of the station, south of Hall tower and the south Union Hall Street platform and on to Holban Yard. Those two tracks now carry trains to/from the Hillside Facility that has replaced Holban Yard; they can also carry nonstop Main Line trains past Jamaica station.
The portion between Jamaica and Babylon stations has been electrified since May 20, 1925, and electric trains to Babylon are often identified as a separate service, the Babylon Branch. It is grade-separated on embankments or elevated structures.
East from Jamaica the Montauk Branch runs between the Main Line tracks (with two usually westward Main Line tracks north of it and two eastward tracks south of it) until just west of Hillside Facility. At 40°42′21″N 73°47′04″W / 40.70585°N 73.7845°W the Montauk Branch rises to cross above the other tracks and turns southeast.
At 40°40′01″N 73°44′49″W / 40.667°N 73.747°W it swings parallel to the Atlantic Branch between its Laurelton and Rosedale stations. The Montauk Branch east of Jamaica is 0.7 mile longer than the Atlantic. The West Hempstead Branch diverges from the Montauk Branch just east of Valley Stream station, and an interlocking in the vicinity of that station allows movement to the Atlantic Branch, Far Rockaway Branch, and Long Beach Branch.
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Montauk Branch
The Montauk Branch is a rail line owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. The line runs the length of Long Island, 115 miles (185 km) from Long Island City to Montauk.
In LIRR maps and schedules for public use, the term Montauk Branch is used only for the train service stopping at stations at Babylon and eastwards, some of which actually use the Main Line and Central Branch to and from Jamaica during peak hours. Service along the physical Montauk Branch between Jamaica and Babylon is covered by the separate Babylon Branch service. The line west of Jamaica is currently unused for passenger service.
The westernmost portion of the Montauk Branch in Queens, known as the "Lower Montauk," runs between the Long Island City and Jamaica stations, mostly at street level with grade crossings. East of the Long Island City station, the abandoned Montauk Cutoff merges with the branch, after both cross Dutch Kills. The Lower Montauk Branch had nine stations, four of which were closed by 1940. The remaining five stations (Richmond Hill, Glendale, Fresh Pond, Haberman, and Penny Bridge) were closed on March 13, 1998, due to low ridership and incompatibility with then-new C3 bi-level coach cars that can only use high platforms (only Richmond Hill had an actual platform; the other four stations' platforms were just pavement strips beside the tracks). After these stations closed, the LIRR continued to use the Lower Montauk to operate non-stop trains between Jamaica and Long Island City rather than divert them to the Main Line; there were only two such trains at the time of the 1998 station closures, one westbound in the morning, and one eastbound in the evening. These two trains were re-routed north to Hunterspoint Avenue in 2012, effectively ceasing passenger train service on the Lower Montauk. Soon after, full control of the Lower Montauk was transferred to the New York and Atlantic Railway for freight operations.
The New York City Department of Transportation has periodically floated proposals to repurpose the Lower Montauk Branch for rapid transit operations. In 1984, the Department studied an option to connect the branch to the New York City Subway through a proposed connection to the IND 63rd Street Line in Long Island City. This proposal was unpopular in the communities surrounding the branch. In 2017, the Department studied a plan to operate light rail service on the Lower Montauk Branch.
After Penn Station opened in 1910, the Lower Montauk became primarily a freight route, and when the present Jamaica station opened in 1913, the two Lower Montauk tracks continued past the south side of the station, south of Hall tower and the south Union Hall Street platform and on to Holban Yard. Those two tracks now carry trains to/from the Hillside Facility that has replaced Holban Yard; they can also carry nonstop Main Line trains past Jamaica station.
The portion between Jamaica and Babylon stations has been electrified since May 20, 1925, and electric trains to Babylon are often identified as a separate service, the Babylon Branch. It is grade-separated on embankments or elevated structures.
East from Jamaica the Montauk Branch runs between the Main Line tracks (with two usually westward Main Line tracks north of it and two eastward tracks south of it) until just west of Hillside Facility. At 40°42′21″N 73°47′04″W / 40.70585°N 73.7845°W the Montauk Branch rises to cross above the other tracks and turns southeast.
At 40°40′01″N 73°44′49″W / 40.667°N 73.747°W it swings parallel to the Atlantic Branch between its Laurelton and Rosedale stations. The Montauk Branch east of Jamaica is 0.7 mile longer than the Atlantic. The West Hempstead Branch diverges from the Montauk Branch just east of Valley Stream station, and an interlocking in the vicinity of that station allows movement to the Atlantic Branch, Far Rockaway Branch, and Long Beach Branch.
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