Floral Park station

Floral Park
Floral Park
	Looking east at Floral Park, from Platform C, prior to the construction of the Main Line's third track.
General information
Location	Tulip Avenue & Atlantic Avenue; Floral Park, NY
Coordinates	40°43′29″N73°42′23″W / 40.724622°N 73.706398°W
Owned by	Long Island Rail Road
Line(s)	Main Line ; Hempstead Branch
Distance	14.9 mi (24.0 km) from Long Island City
Platforms	2 side platforms ; 1 island platform
Tracks	4 (2 on the Hempstead Branch, and 3 on the Main Line, 1 track shared by both the Hempstead Branch and Main Line)
Connections	New York City Bus : Q36 (at Jericho Turnpike, Little Neck Parkway, 256th and 257th Streets); Nassau Inter-County Express : n24 (at Jericho Turnpike)
Construction
Parking	Yes
Bicycle facilities	Yes
Accessible	Yes; 3 Elevators, 1 for each platform
Other information
Fare zone	4
History
Opened	1878
Rebuilt	1909, 1960
Electrified	May 26, 1908; 750 V (DC) third rail
Previous names	Stewart Junction (1878–1879); Hinsdale (1879–1887); East Hinsdale (1887–1890)
Passengers
2006	2,991
Services
	Oyster Bay Branch does not stop here
	Ronkonkoma Branch does not stop here
	Montauk Branch does not stop here
Former services
Location
Location

Last updated January 03, 2025

Floral Park is a Long Island Rail Road train station in Floral Park, New York, at Tulip and Atlantic Avenues, on the Main Line and Hempstead Branch just west of their split. Most service is provided by trains on the Hempstead Branch and the Port Jefferson Branch.

History

The first Floral Park station was built between October and November 1878 as "Stewart Junction," for the junction between the LIRR Main Line and the Central Railroad of Long Island built by Alexander Turney Stewart. Five years earlier the CRRLI had bridged the LIRR, and the station served as a connection between both lines. Connecting tracks were available at the southwest corner of the bridge at the station, and on the northwest corner of the bridge west of the station. It was renamed "Hinsdale" in 1879 with the closing of the CRRLI depot of the same name along the Creedmoor Branch, then renamed "East Hinsdale" in 1887. That same year, the station gained a control tower known as "Tower #47." Apparently due to the presence of the florist John Lewis Childs, the station was renamed "Floral Park" by 1890.^[4] Tower #47 was replaced with the "FK Tower" in 1904, the station itself was razed in 1909, and a second station was rebuilt and relocated the same year in July.^[5] In 1924, the LIRR replaced the FK Tower with the Park Tower, and rebuilt it again in 1946.^[6]

The third and current elevated structure was built in 1960 as part of a grade-separation project executed by the New York Public Service Commission, as the second one was razed on October 20 of that same year.^[7]

The ticket office at this station was staffed until August 19, 2009, when it was closed during cost-cutting measures across the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.^[8]

As part of the LIRR third track project, the Floral Park station was renovated starting in spring 2019 and three vehicular crossings east of the station were rebuilt starting that year.^[9] The station was rebuilt and received elevators, making it ADA-accessible as of July 2021.^[10]^[11]^[12] On August 15, 2022, the track designations at Floral Park were changed.^[13]

With the opening of Grand Central Madison in 2023, significant service changes occurred at Floral Park.^[14] Generally, Hempstead Branch trains provide a one seat ride to Grand Central while Main Line trains provide a one seat ride to Penn Station; previously, almost all Main Line trains bypassed the station. Direct service to Atlantic Terminal is limited to one peak Hempstead Branch train in each direction.^[14]

Station layout

This station has three high-level platforms serving four tracks. Platform A is eight cars long, while Platforms B and C are 10 cars long. Main Line trains (the Port Jefferson, Oyster Bay, Ronkonkoma, and Branches) use the three northern tracks while Hempstead Branch trains use the two southern tracks.

P Platform level	Platform A, side platform
	Track 3	← Port Jefferson Branch toward Grand Central Madison, Long Island City, or Penn Station (Elmont–UBS Arena or Jamaica) Oyster Bay Branch, Montauk Branch, Ronkonkoma Branch do not stop here
	Track 1	← Oyster Bay Branch, Montauk Branch, Ronkonkoma Branch, Port Jefferson Branch do not stop here →
	Platform B, island platform
	Track 2	Oyster Bay Branch, Montauk Branch, Ronkonkoma Branch do not stop here → Port Jefferson Branch toward Huntington or Port Jefferson (New Hyde Park) → ← Hempstead Branch toward Grand Central Madison, Atlantic Terminal, or Penn Station (Bellerose)
	Track 4	Hempstead Branch toward Hempstead (Stewart Manor) →
	Platform C, side platform
G	Ground level	Exit/entrance, parking, buses, taxis

Related Research Articles

The Long Island Rail Road, or LIRR, 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 third quarter of 2024.

Far Rockaway is the terminus of the Long Island Rail Road's Far Rockaway Branch in the Far Rockaway neighborhood of Queens in New York City. The station is located at Nameoke Avenue and Redfern Avenue.

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.

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.

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.

Merillon Avenue is a station on the Long Island Rail Road's Main Line. It is located at Nassau Boulevard and Merillon Avenue in Garden City Park, New York. The station is wheelchair accessible with two side platforms and a cross-under at Nassau Boulevard.

New Hyde Park is a station on the Long Island Rail Road's Main Line. It is located at New Hyde Park Road and Second Avenue in the Village of New Hyde Park, in Nassau County, New York, United States. The station is wheelchair accessible and had two grade crossings on either side of the station until late 2020; both were subsequently demolished and turned into underpasses.

Babylon is a station on the Long Island Rail Road in the village of Babylon, New York at Railroad Avenue west of Deer Park Avenue. It is on the Montauk Branch and is the eastern terminus of the Babylon Branch service. To the west is the junction with the Central Branch, which heads northwest to join the Main Line at Bethpage Interlocking southeast of the Bethpage station.

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.

West Hempstead is the terminal station at the eastern end of the Long Island Rail Road's West Hempstead Branch. It is located at Hempstead Avenue and Hempstead Gardens Drive in West Hempstead, New York – one of three stations located within the community.

Patchogue is a station of the Montauk Branch of the Long Island Rail Road in the Village of Patchogue, Suffolk County, 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.

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.

Garden City is one of five stations on the Long Island Rail Road located within the village of Garden City, New York. It is on the Hempstead Branch and is at Seventh Street between Hilton and Cathedral Avenues, directly across the street from the Garden City Hotel. It is one of the few Long Island Rail Road stations with two station houses.

The Stewart Manor station is one of five stations of the Long Island Rail Road that serve the village of Garden City, New York. It is located just south of Stewart Avenue, to the west of New Hyde Park Road. Contrary to its name, the station is not within the limits of the village of Stewart Manor – the west end of the station is one block east of the village's boundary with Garden City. There is ample permit parking available at the station.

The Rosa Parks Hempstead Transit Center is an intermodal center and transportation hub in Hempstead, New York. It contains the Nassau Inter-County Express bus system's indoor customer facility between Jackson and West Columbia Streets – as well as the terminus for the Hempstead Branch of the Long Island Rail Road, located right across West Columbia Street from the bus terminal.

The Creedmoor Branch was the name of a short branch that the Long Island Rail Road gave to the right of way of tracks between its Floral Park station and Creedmoor State Hospital in Queens, New York. The branch existed from 1879 to 1966 finally being torn up and demapped in the early 1970s.

The Garden City–Mitchell Field Secondary is a lightly used freight branch of the Long Island Rail Road. It is a spur off the Hempstead Branch.

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.

References

↑ Long Island Rail Road (May 14, 2012). "TIMETABLE No. 4" (PDF). p. III. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
↑ "Hurrah at Hempstead Over the Third Rail". The Brooklyn Times Union. May 20, 1908. p. 5. Retrieved September 21, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
↑ Average weekday, 2006 LIRR Origin and Destination Study
↑ "The Stewart Line: East Hinsdale - Floral Park". Arrt's Arrchives.
↑ "LIRR Station History" (PDF). TrainsAreFun.com.
↑ "Floral Park Station Photographic History". Arrt's Arrchives.
↑ "Compact NYSDOT Highway Record Plans: Beginning 1900". State of New York. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
↑ jlouis (September 4, 2009). "Floral Park Commuters Deal with LIRR Station Ticket Window Closure". Floral Park Dispatch. Archived from the original on August 19, 2021.
↑ "Capital Program Oversight Committee Meeting June 2018" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. June 18, 2018. p. 27. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
↑ Brooks, Khristopher J. (April 29, 2018). "Villagers get look at third track-related work". Newsday. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
↑ "Floral Park Station Enhancement". A Modern LI. March 13, 2018. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
↑ "MTA Announces Opening of Three New Elevators at LIRR Floral Park Station". MTA.info. June 16, 2021.
↑ "First section of LIRR's Third Track expansion debuts during morning commute". News 12 Long Island. August 15, 2022. Retrieved August 17, 2022.
1 2 "LIRR service to Grand Central: Changes to your branch". MTA. Retrieved January 19, 2024.

External links

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.

[ett-20120514-1] Long Island Rail Road (May 14, 2012). "TIMETABLE No. 4" (PDF). p. III. Retrieved August 4, 2022.

[1908electric-2] "Hurrah at Hempstead Over the Third Rail". The Brooklyn Times Union. May 20, 1908. p. 5. Retrieved September 21, 2021– via Newspapers.com.

[3] Average weekday, 2006 LIRR Origin and Destination Study

[4] "The Stewart Line: East Hinsdale - Floral Park". Arrt's Arrchives.

[5] "LIRR Station History" (PDF). TrainsAreFun.com.

[6] "Floral Park Station Photographic History". Arrt's Arrchives.

[:2-7] "Compact NYSDOT Highway Record Plans: Beginning 1900". State of New York. Retrieved January 19, 2024.

[8] uis (September 4, 2009). "Floral Park Commuters Deal with LIRR Station Ticket Window Closure". Floral Park Dispatch. Archived from the original on August 19, 2021.

[:0-9] "Capital Program Oversight Committee Meeting June 2018" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. June 18, 2018. p. 27. Retrieved June 17, 2018.

[10] Brooks, Khristopher J. (April 29, 2018). "Villagers get look at third track-related work". Newsday. Retrieved April 30, 2018.

[11] "Floral Park Station Enhancement". A Modern LI. March 13, 2018. Retrieved July 4, 2018.

[12] "MTA Announces Opening of Three New Elevators at LIRR Floral Park Station". MTA.info. June 16, 2021.

[13] "First section of LIRR's Third Track expansion debuts during morning commute". News 12 Long Island. August 15, 2022. Retrieved August 17, 2022.

[:1-14] 1 2 "LIRR service to Grand Central: Changes to your branch". MTA. Retrieved January 19, 2024.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]