Babylon station

Babylon
Babylon
	Suffolk County Transit's former S27 bus leaves Babylon station
General information
Location	Railroad Avenue & Deer Park Avenue; Babylon, New York
Coordinates	40°42′02″N73°19′27″W / 40.700614°N 73.32421°W
Owned by	Long Island Rail Road
Line(s)	Montauk Branch
Platforms	2 island platforms
Tracks	3
Connections	Suffolk County Transit : 2, 3, 5, 10, 15 (15 summer only); Adirondack Trailways
Construction
Parking	Yes (village permit and metered)
Bicycle facilities	Yes
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Fare zone	9
History
Opened	October 28, 1867 (SSRRLI)
Rebuilt	1881, 1964
Electrified	May 21, 1925; 750 V (DC) third rail
Previous names	Seaside (July 1868–1869)
Passengers
2012—2014	13,366
Rank	7 of 125
Services
	Hicksville limited service toward Penn Station or Long Island City
Former services
Location
Location

Last updated September 24, 2024

The Babylon station is a station on the Long Island Rail Road in the village of Babylon, New York at Railroad Avenue west of Deer Park Avenue (Suffolk CR 34). It is on the Montauk Branch and is the eastern terminus of the Babylon Branch service. To the west is the junction (Belmont Junction) with the Central Branch, which heads northwest to join the Main Line at Bethpage Interlocking southeast of the Bethpage station. Babylon station is elevated with two island platforms and is wheelchair accessible through elevator access. The electrified portion of the Montauk Branch ends east of the station.

History

Babylon station originally opened as a South Side Railroad of Long Island depot on October 28, 1867. It was briefly renamed Seaside station in the summer of 1868, but resumed its original name of Babylon station in 1869. The Central Railroad of Long Island had once planned an extension to the Great South Bay and Fire Island which was never built, and a horse car and later trolley line was provided by the Babylon Rail Road company as a substitute.^[3] The CRRLI abandoned their own depot in 1874, and began to share it with SSRLI. From that point on the original SSRLI depot contained the name "Babylon & Fire Island" posted on one side.^[4] The second depot opened on July 2, 1881, and contained three tracks with two low-level side platforms and two high island platforms, as well as a pedestrian bridge and a REA Express freight house.^[5] Electrification came to the station in May 1925. The station became the terminus of the newly established Babylon Branch. It was razed in 1963 as part of the grade elimination project that was taking place along the entire Babylon Branch during the post-war era.^[6] The new elevated third station opened on September 9, 1964.

East of the station, a train washing canopy existed in West Islip until 2005.^[7]^[8] In June 2010, the Long Island Rail Road broke ground on a new environmentally friendly train wash canopy, since Ronkonkoma station had the only train wash on the east end. This new train wash can recycle water using filters and is capable of washing up to 180 electric multiple unit cars a day.

As budgeted in the 2008–2013 Capital Plan, station rehabilitation over the next five years will include the demolition of the existing platforms and design and construction of a new platform as well as replacement of platform waiting rooms, escalators, and elevators. The project is projected to cost $39 million and will replace infrastructure that has existed since 1964.^[9]

Starting in September 2024 as part of the 2025-2029 plan, the station will have its eastern and western portions closed until May 2026. Additions include canopies, escalators, elevators; and the replacement of bathrooms, stairs, platforms, and waiting rooms.^[10]

Station layout

The station has two 12-car-long high-level island platforms.

P Platform level	Track 1	← Babylon Branch toward Grand Central Madison, Atlantic Terminal, or Penn Station (Lindenhurst) ← Montauk Branch toward Long Island City or Penn Station (Hicksville or Jamaica)
	Platform A, island platform
	Track 2	← Babylon Branch toward Grand Central Madison, Atlantic Terminal, or Penn Station (Lindenhurst) ← Montauk Branch toward Long Island City or Penn Station (Hicksville or Jamaica)
	Platform B, island platform
	Track 3	← Montauk Branch toward Patchogue, Speonk, or Montauk (Bay Shore) → ← Babylon Branch termination track →
G	Ground level	Exit/entrance, parking, buses

Related Research Articles

<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.

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.

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.

Lynbrook is a Long Island Rail Road commuter train station in Lynbrook, New York. The station is located at the intersection of Sunrise Highway and Peninsula Boulevard and is located on the railroad's Montauk Branch and Long Beach Branch lines and is served by Long Beach Branch trains and select weekday Babylon Branch trains.

The Central Branch is a rail line owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) in the U.S. state of New York, extending from 40.734°N 73.470°W just east of Bethpage station to 40.696°N 73.341°W just west of Babylon station. It was built in 1873 as part of the Babylon Extension of the Central Railroad of Long Island (CRRLI), which was owned by Alexander Turney Stewart. The branch was mostly unused following the 1876 merger of the CRRLI and the LIRR, but in 1925 it was rebuilt and reconfigured to connect Bethpage and Babylon stations.

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.

Patchogue is a station of the Montauk Branch of the Long Island Rail Road in Patchogue, New York. It is on Division Street between West Avenue and South Ocean Avenue. The station is the eastern terminus for some trains on the branch.

St. Albans is a station on the Long Island Rail Road's Montauk Branch in St. Albans, Queens, New York on the southwest corner of Linden Boulevard and Montauk Place, although the segment of Montauk Place that once intersected with Linden Boulevard has been abandoned and fenced off.

Central Islip is a station on the Main Line of the Long Island Rail Road. It is at the southwest corner of Suffolk County Road 100 and Lowell Avenue in Central Islip, New York. Short-term parking is also available on Suffolk CR 100 across from the intersections between Pineville and Hawthorne Avenues.

Montauk is the terminus of the Montauk Branch of the Long Island Rail Road, as well as the easternmost railroad station on Long Island and in New York state. The station is located on Edgemere Street and Fort Pond Road west of Montauk Harbor, New York.

Deer Park is a station along the Main Line of the Long Island Rail Road. It is officially located at Pineaire Drive, Executive Avenue, and Long Island Avenue in Baywood, 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.

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.

The Bethpage Branch was a branch of the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR), running from the present-day split between the Ronkonkoma Branch and Central Branch north about 1+3⁄4 miles (2.8 km) to present-day Old Bethpage, New York.

Bethpage station is a commuter rail station along the Main Line of the Long Island Rail Road. It is located at Stewart Avenue and Jackson Avenue, in Bethpage, New York, and serves Ronkonkoma Branch trains. Trains that travel along the Central Branch also use these tracks, but do not stop here.

Islip is a station on the Montauk Branch of the Long Island Rail Road, off NY 111 and Nassau Avenue, north of Suffolk CR 50, and south of Moffitt Boulevard in Islip, New York.

Oakdale is a railroad station on the Montauk Branch of the Long Island Rail Road, on the corner of Oakdale-Bohemia Road and Montauk Boulevard in view of Montauk Highway across Norman DeMott Park, in Oakdale, 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.

Eastport was a railroad station built on the former Manorville Branch of the Long Island Rail Road in Eastport, New York. It was opened in 1870 and closed in 1958. It was the easternmost station along both branches in the Town of Brookhaven.

South Farmingdale was a station along the Central Branch of the Long Island Rail Road in South Farmingdale, New York, United States.

References

1 2 Vincent F. Seyfried, The Long Island Rail Road: A Comprehensive History, Part One: South Side R.R. of L.I., 1961
↑ "2012-2014 LIRR Origin and Destination Report : Volume I: Travel Behavior Among All LIRR Passengers" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. August 23, 2016. PDF pp. 15, 197. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 17, 2019. Retrieved March 29, 2020. Data collection took place after the pretest determinations, starting in September 2012 and concluding in May 2014. .... 2012-2014 LIRR O[rigin and ]D[estination] COUNTS: WEEKDAY East/West Total By Station in Numerical Order
↑ "BY RAIL TO FIRE ISLAND". arrts-arrchives.com.
↑ "SSRR BABYLON STATION". arrts-arrchives.com.
↑ "LIRR Babylon". trainsarefun.com.
↑ Morrison, David D.; Pakaluk, Valerie (2003). Long Island Rail Road Stations. Images of Rail. Chicago: Arcadia Publishing. pp. 90–91. ISBN 0-7385-1180-3 . Retrieved November 25, 2011.
↑ Two mid-1980s views of West Islip...
↑ ...train wash racks
↑ 2008-2013 Capital Plan. Page 69
↑ Castillo, Alfonso A. (September 21, 2024). "$6B for LIRR in MTA plan: Work affects Babylon stop". Newsday (Print newspaper). Vol. 85, no. 19. Long Island. pp. A3.

External links

Babylon – LIRR
Babylon LIRR timetable
The Unofficial LIRR History Website
- 1941 Postcard ^[usurped], 1954 ^[usurped] and March 2000 Photos ^[usurped]
BABYLON Interlocking (The LIRR Today)
Station from Google Maps Street View
Platforms from Google Maps Street View
Waiting Room from Google Maps Street View

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[Seyfried-1] 1 2 Vincent F. Seyfried, The Long Island Rail Road: A Comprehensive History, Part One: South Side R.R. of L.I., 1961

[2] "2012-2014 LIRR Origin and Destination Report : Volume I: Travel Behavior Among All LIRR Passengers" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. August 23, 2016. PDF pp. 15, 197. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 17, 2019. Retrieved March 29, 2020. Data collection took place after the pretest determinations, starting in September 2012 and concluding in May 2014. .... 2012-2014 LIRR O[rigin and ]D[estination] COUNTS: WEEKDAY East/West Total By Station in Numerical Order

[3] "BY RAIL TO FIRE ISLAND". arrts-arrchives.com.

[4] "SSRR BABYLON STATION". arrts-arrchives.com.

[5] "LIRR Babylon". trainsarefun.com.

[6] Morrison, David D.; Pakaluk, Valerie (2003). Long Island Rail Road Stations. Images of Rail. Chicago: Arcadia Publishing. pp. 90–91. ISBN 0-7385-1180-3 . Retrieved November 25, 2011.

[7] Two mid-1980s views of West Islip...

[8] ...train wash racks

[9] 2008-2013 Capital Plan. Page 69

[10] Castillo, Alfonso A. (September 21, 2024). "$6B for LIRR in MTA plan: Work affects Babylon stop". Newsday (Print newspaper). Vol. 85, no. 19. Long Island. pp. A3.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]