Babylon Branch

Last updated

Babylon Branch
LIRR Train 108 leaves Lynbrook.jpg
Babylon Branch train #108 departs the Lynbrook station, bound for Babylon.
Overview
StatusOperational
Owner Long Island Rail Road
Locale Nassau and Suffolk County, New York, USA
Termini
Stations14
Service
Type Commuter rail
System Long Island Rail Road
Services
Operator(s) Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Ridership11,606,943 (annual ridership, 2023) [1]
History
Opened1867 (as part of the Southern Railroad of Long Island)
Technical
Track gauge 4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification Third rail,  750 V DC
Route map
Babylon Branch
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Zone 1
Zone 3
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9.0 mi
14.5 km
Jamaica
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11.8 mi
19 km
St. Albans
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Zone 3
Zone 4
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16.1 mi
25.9 km
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17.7 mi
28.5 km
Lynbrook
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Zone 4
Zone 7
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19.3 mi
31.1 km
Rockville Centre
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21.3 mi
34.3 km
Baldwin
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22.6 mi
36.4 km
Freeport
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24.3 mi
39.1 km
Merrick
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25.4 mi
40.9 km
Bellmore
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26.5 mi
42.6 km
Wantagh
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27.7 mi
44.6 km
Seaford
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28.6 mi
46 km
Massapequa
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29.4 mi
47.3 km
Massapequa Park
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Zone 7
Zone 9
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31.3 mi
50.4 km
Amityville
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32.4 mi
52.1 km
Copiague
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33.7 mi
54.2 km
Lindenhurst
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36.6 mi
58.9 km
Babylon
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Distances shown from Long Island City via the Lower Montauk Branch

The Babylon Branch is a rail service operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. The term refers to the trains serving Montauk Branch stations from Valley Stream east to Babylon; in other words, the Babylon Branch is a rail service rather than an actual track. The electrification of the Montauk Branch ends east of the Babylon station, so the Babylon Branch is mostly served by electric trains.

Contents

The west end of the "Babylon Branch" is the junction between the West Hempstead Branch and Montauk Branch (Valley Interlocking); St. Albans, the only stop on the Montauk Branch west of Valley Stream, is serviced only by West Hempstead Branch trains. Some Montauk Branch trains operate nonstop through Babylon Branch stations until reaching Babylon, though others use the Central Branch between Belmont Junction west of Babylon station and a junction at Beth Interlocking on the Main Line southeast of Bethpage Station, running to New York City via the Main Line. [2] [3] On weekends, Babylon Branch trains typically stop at Forest Hills and Kew Gardens in the eastbound direction as opposed to other Main Line trains that serve other branches. [3]

The Babylon Branch portion of the Montauk Branch is completely grade separated with bridges over all intersecting roadways. New York State Route 231 and the Meadowbrook Parkway are the two exceptions to this; the tracks pass under these roadways.

History

Early history

Babylon station LIRR Babylon Station.JPG
Babylon station
Aerial view of (from bottom) the Wantagh, Seaford, and Massapequa stations along the Babylon Branch Wantagh aerial 2021.jpg
Aerial view of (from bottom) the Wantagh, Seaford, and Massapequa stations along the Babylon Branch

The South Side Railroad of Long Island in the 1860s built what was to become the Montauk Branch of the Long Island Rail Road. The Babylon Branch as a separate operational entity began as the electrification of the Montauk Branch between Valley Stream and Babylon on May 20, 1925. Eventually, this would also include the former "Springfield Branch" which the Montauk Branch was relocated to northeast of Springfield Junction.

Grade-separation project

Color light signals on the Babylon line Signal gantry before crossover on LIRR Babylon Line.jpg
Color light signals on the Babylon line

The tracks were elevated from ground level between 1950 and 1980. Elevation of the line sparked grass-roots efforts to preserve the previous versions of Wantagh and Lindenhurst Stations, the former of which resulted in the creation of the Wantagh Railroad Museum. The last station to be elevated on the branch was Massapequa Park on December 13, 1980. [4]

On December 30, 1968, the first revenue train of M1 cars departed Babylon for Penn Station. In anticipation, all stations that were still at grade level had their platforms converted from low-level to high-level (an increase of 4 feet) from late-1967 to late-1968 in time for when the fleet went into service. Stations that were still at-grade at the time were Lindenhurst, Copiague, Amityville, Massapequa Park, Bellmore, and Merrick. The former three's grade separation projects had just gotten underway a few months prior, while Massapequa Park was still at-grade and the latter two were being prepared for their projects. All stations that had been elevated were equipped with single high-level island platforms, except for Babylon, which had two platforms. The call for high-level platforms was due to the M1 lacking steps that the fleet they were replacing had, and to make travel times quicker by several minutes.

Work on grade separation began in 1970. The stretch of track between Amityville and Lindenhurst was grade-separated, with new high-level platforms on elevated viaducts, on August 7, 1973. [5] At the same time, the stretch of track through Bellmore and Merrick was grade-separated, which was completed on June 28, 1975.

In 1977, work began on the $29.5 million project to elevate the line through Massapequa Park to eliminate the three remaining grade crossings. As part of the project, the platform at Massapequa was lengthened to accommodate twelve-car trains, meaning all stations on the branch could accommodate at least ten cars. The platform extension was completed in January 1980. [6] This grade-separation project was completed on December 13, 1980.

In October 1986, work began to extend the platform at Baldwin from being ten cars long to being twelve-cars long. As part of the project, a temporary wooden platform at the station's eastern end would be demolished and replaced by a 300 foot (91 m)-long concrete slab. Work was expected to be completed in three months. Platform extensions had already been completed at Rockville Centre, Freeport, Merrick, and Wantagh. [7]

Station renovations

Since the 1990s, many station houses along the branch have been rebuilt, including the entire platforms at Seaford from July 2008 to July 2009, Massapequa from late 2013 to mid-2015, and Wantagh from late 2016 to late 2018. Additionally, from July 2007 to April 10, 2011, the signals, switches, and gantries were replaced between Wantagh and Amityville, with color light signals replacing the old position-light signals installed during the elevation of that section in 1973.

A pocket track was built east of the Massapequa station between the two tracks. This was to be completed by Spring 2016, but was pushed back to April 2019. [8]

Plans for the future include the modernization of Babylon Interlocking, viaduct track replacement at certain stations, replacement of platforms, escalators, and elevators at Babylon. In November 2022, the MTA announced that intends to install elevators at Massapequa Park, Amityville, Copiague, and Lindenhurst stations and thus make them ADA accessible; [9] these are the only four stations on the branch that are not currently ADA accessible.

Stations

West of Lynbrook, most trips go on to terminate at Grand Central or Penn Station, with some trips ending at Jamaica or Hunterspoint Avenue. [3]

Zone [10] LocationStation Miles (km)
from Long Island City [11]
Date
opened
Date
closed
Connections / notes
3 St. Albans, Queens St. Albans
(limited service)
11.8 (19.0)1898 [12] New York City Bus: Q4
4 Lynbrook Lynbrook Wheelchair symbol.svg
(limited service) [3]
17.7 (28.5)1867 [13] Long Island Rail Road: Long Beach Branch
Nassau Inter-County Express: n4 , n25 , n31 , n31x , n32
Originally named Pearsall's Corners, then Pearsall's
7 Rockville Centre Rockville Centre Wheelchair symbol.svg 19.3 (31.1)1867Nassau Inter-County Express: n15 , n16 , n31x, Mercy Medical Shuttle
Baldwin Baldwin Wheelchair symbol.svg 21.3 (34.3)1867Nassau Inter-County Express: n35
Originally named Baldwinsville, [14] then Baldwins
Freeport Freeport Wheelchair symbol.svg 22.6 (36.4)1867Nassau Inter-County Express: n4 , n19 , n19x , n40/41 , n43 , n88x
Merrick Merrick Wheelchair symbol.svg 24.3 (39.1)1867
Bellmore Bellmore Wheelchair symbol.svg 25.4 (40.9)1869
Wantagh Wantagh Wheelchair symbol.svg 26.5 (42.6)1867Originally named Ridgewood
Seaford Seaford Wheelchair symbol.svg 27.7 (44.6)1899Nassau Inter-County Express: n54
Massapequa Massapequa Wheelchair symbol.svg 28.6 (46.0)1867Nassau Inter-County Express: n54 , n55 , n80
Originally named South Oyster Bay
Massapequa Park Massapequa Park 29.4 (47.3)1933Nassau Inter-County Express: n54 , n55 , n80
East Massapequa Unqua 18801881
9 Amityville Amityville Wheelchair symbol.svg 31.3 (50.4)1868Nassau Inter-County Express: n54 , n55 , n71
Suffolk County Transit: 1 , 2 , 4 , 10
Copiague Copiague Wheelchair symbol.svg 32.4 (52.1)1902
Belmont Junction 18751876
Lindenhurst Lindenhurst Wheelchair symbol.svg 33.7 (54.2)1867Suffolk County Transit: 10
Originally named Wellwood, then Breslau
Babylon Babylon Wheelchair symbol.svg 36.6 (58.9)1867 [13] Long Island Rail Road: Montauk Branch
Suffolk County Transit: 2 , 3 , 5 , 10 , 15
Originally named Seaside [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Long Island Rail Road</span> Commuter rail system on Long Island, New York

The Long Island Rail Road, often abbreviated as the LIRR and verbalized "L-I-Double-R", is a railroad in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County on Long Island. The railroad currently operates a public commuter rail service, with its freight operations contracted to the New York and Atlantic Railway. With an average weekday ridership of 354,800 passengers in 2016, it is the busiest commuter railroad in North America. It is also one of the world's few commuter systems that runs 24/7 year-round. It is publicly owned by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which refers to it as MTA Long Island Rail Road. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 75,186,900, or about 276,800 per weekday as of the first quarter of 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Copiague station</span> Long Island Rail Road station in Suffolk County, New York

Copiague is a station on the Babylon Branch of the Long Island Rail Road, located in Copiague, New York. The station is located on Marconi Boulevard and Great Neck Road, one block north of Oak Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Valley Stream station</span> Long Island Rail Road station in Nassau County, New York

Valley Stream is a train station located on the Atlantic Branch of the Long Island Rail Road, in the Incorporated Village of Valley Stream, in Nassau County, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">City Terminal Zone</span> Collection of Long Island Rail Road branches

The City Terminal Zone is the set of Long Island Rail Road lines within New York City west of Jamaica station, except the Port Washington Branch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Montauk Branch</span> Long Island Rail Road 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. However, in LIRR maps and schedules for public use, the term Montauk Branch refers to the line east of Babylon; service from Jamaica to Babylon is covered by separate Babylon Branch schedules, while the line west of Jamaica is currently unused for passenger service. A select number of Montauk Branch trains operate via the Main Line and Central Branch during peak hours.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Hempstead Branch</span> Long Island Rail Road branch

The West Hempstead Branch is an electrified rail line owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR). It runs between Valley Stream and West Hempstead, in Nassau County, New York, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hempstead Branch</span> Long Island Rail Road branch

The Hempstead Branch is an electrified rail line and service owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. The branch begins at the Main Line at Queens Interlocking, just east of Queens Village station. It parallels the Main Line past Bellerose to Floral Park, where it splits southward and continues east via the village of Garden City to Hempstead Crossing. There it turns south to the final two stations, Country Life Press and Hempstead.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Main Line (Long Island Rail Road)</span> Long Island Rail Road branch

The Main Line is a rail line owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. It begins as a two-track line at Long Island City station in Long Island City, Queens, and runs along the middle of Long Island about 95 miles (153 km) to Greenport station in Greenport, Suffolk County. At Harold Interlocking approximately one mile east of Long Island City, the tracks from the East River Tunnels and 63rd Street Tunnel into Manhattan intersect with the Main Line, which most trains use rather than using the Long Island City station.

The Long Island Rail Road is a railroad owned by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in the U.S. state of New York. It is the oldest United States railroad still operating under its original name and charter. It consolidated several other companies in the late 19th century. The Pennsylvania Railroad owned the Long Island Rail Road for the majority of the 20th century and sold it to the State in 1966.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queens Village station</span> Long Island Rail Road station in Queens, New York

The Queens Village station is a commuter rail station on the Long Island Rail Road's Main Line, located between 218th Street and Springfield Boulevard, in the Queens Village neighborhood of Queens, New York City. It has two side platforms along the four-track line, and is served primarily by Hempstead Branch trains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amityville station</span> Long Island Rail Road station in Suffolk County, New York

Amityville is the westernmost station on the Babylon Branch of the Long Island Rail Road in Suffolk County. It is located on John Street in Amityville, New York, but the official description of its location is not as precise. The MTA describes the station as being located on John Street between Sunrise Highway and NY 27A west of NY 110. John Street is located between Sterling Place and West Oak Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hollis station</span> Long Island Rail Road station in Queens, New York

Hollis is a station on the Long Island Rail Road's Main Line at the intersection of 193rd Street and Woodhull Avenue in the Hollis neighborhood of Queens, New York City. With a few exceptions, only trains on the Hempstead Branch stop here.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wantagh station</span> Long Island Rail Road station in Nassau County, New York

Wantagh is a station on the Babylon Branch of the Long Island Rail Road. It is located on Wantagh Avenue and Railroad Avenue near NY 27 in Wantagh, New York. It is commonly used as a terminal and origin for some Babylon branch trains during the rush hours.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lindenhurst station</span> Long Island Rail Road station in Suffolk County, New York

Lindenhurst is a station on the Babylon Branch of the Long Island Rail Road. It is officially located at Wellwood Avenue and East Hoffman Avenue in Lindenhurst, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Massapequa station</span> Long Island Rail Road station in Nassau County, New York

Massapequa is a station along the Long Island Rail Road's Montauk Branch in Massapequa, New York, serving Babylon Branch trains. It is officially located on Sunrise Highway east of Broadway and NY 107 and parking lots are located far beyond its given location.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Massapequa Park station</span> Long Island Rail Road station in Nassau County, New York

The Massapequa Park station is a station on the Babylon Branch of the Long Island Rail Road. It is officially located on New York State Route 27 and Park Boulevard in Massapequa Park, New York, although there are parking lots along Front Street and north of the station. All parking lots require Village of Massapequa Park residential permits.

Central Railroad of Long Island was built on Long Island, New York, by Alexander Turney Stewart, who was also the founder of Garden City. The railroad was established in 1871, then merged with the Flushing and North Side Railroad in 1874 to form the Flushing, North Shore and Central Railroad. It was finally acquired by the Long Island Rail Road in 1876 and divided into separate branches. Despite its short existence, the CRRLI had a major impact on railroading and development on Long Island.

Springfield Gardens was an island platform station that existed along the Babylon-Montauk Branch of the Long Island Rail Road, in the Springfield Gardens, Queens section of Queens, New York City. The station was located between St. Albans and Rosedale Stations, north of Springfield Junction. The only visible evidence of the station today is a wide gap between the tracks.

References

  1. "2023 ANNUAL RIDERSHIP REPORT". mta.info. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  2. "MTA Railroads Map". New York: Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "LIRR Babylon Branch Timetable". New York: Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
  4. LIRR Grade Crossing Elimination Projects (TraisnAreFun.com)
  5. Burks, Edward C. (August 7, 1973). "L.I.R.R. to offer Smoother Ride Today". The New York Times. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
  6. "LIRR Platform Extended". Newsday. Hempstead, New York. January 22, 1980. Retrieved July 15, 2021 via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Train Station Work". Newsday. Hempstead, New York. October 12, 1986. Retrieved July 15, 2021 via Newspapers.com.
  8. MTA Long Island Rail Road Committee Meeting (PDF) (Report). New York: Metropolitan Transportation Authority. November 2017. p. 35. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  9. "MTA Announces Accessibility Upgrades at Multiple Subway and LIRR Stations" (Press release). New York: Metropolitan Transportation Authority. November 30, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  10. "New Fares — Effective April 21, 2019". Metropolitan Transportation Authority . Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  11. "Long Island Railroad Station History (TrainsAreFun.com)". Archived from the original on January 6, 2011. Retrieved September 4, 2014.
  12. 1 2 3 Vincent F. Seyfried, The Long Island Rail Road: A Comprehensive History, Part One: South Side R.R. of L.I., © 1961
  13. Baldwinsville Station (Arrt's Arrchives)
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