General information | ||||||||||||||||
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Coordinates | 40°48′29″N73°06′21″W / 40.808088°N 73.1059°W | |||||||||||||||
Owned by | Long Island Rail Road | |||||||||||||||
Line(s) | Main Line | |||||||||||||||
Distance | 48.5 mi (78.1 km) from Long Island City [1] | |||||||||||||||
Platforms | 2 side platforms 1 island platform Spanish solution | |||||||||||||||
Tracks | 2 | |||||||||||||||
Connections | Suffolk County Transit : 51, 52A (all times); 52B (weekdays only) Colonial Transportation to Long Island MacArthur Airport | |||||||||||||||
Construction | ||||||||||||||||
Parking | Yes | |||||||||||||||
Bicycle facilities | Yes | |||||||||||||||
Accessible | Yes | |||||||||||||||
Architect | Richard Henry Behr | |||||||||||||||
Other information | ||||||||||||||||
Fare zone | 10 | |||||||||||||||
History | ||||||||||||||||
Opened | 1883 | |||||||||||||||
Rebuilt | 1986–1997 | |||||||||||||||
Electrified | January 18, 1988 750 V (DC) third rail | |||||||||||||||
Previous names | Lake Ronkonkoma | |||||||||||||||
Passengers | ||||||||||||||||
2006 | 17,278 [2] | |||||||||||||||
Services | ||||||||||||||||
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Ronkonkoma (signed as Ronkonkoma LI MacArthur Airport on station signage) is a major railroad station and transportation hub along the Main Line of the Long Island Rail Road in Ronkonkoma, New York. The station is the eastern terminus of the Ronkonkoma Branch and the western terminus of the Greenport Branch, and it also serves the adjacent Long Island MacArthur Airport.
The station is located on Railroad Avenue North across from the intersection of Hawkins Avenue, and has parking facilities and other amenities that extend beyond the central location. Free parking is available in the lots adjacent to the tracks on the north and south side. One parking garage north of the station was built in 1996 on a former freight spur. [3] [4] The station has a total of approximately 6,100 parking spaces. [5]
Ronkonkoma Station was originally built as Lake Ronkonkoma station in 1883 as a replacement for the 1843-built Lakeland station designed to serve both Lakeland and Ronkonkoma, New York, as well as the 1853-built Hermanville station, designed for a former community along the south side of the tracks. [6]
Lakeland was originally built in 1843 as Lake Road station. It was named for and located on Lake Road (now Pond Road), a street that once ran from Oakdale to the east side of Lake Ronkonkoma itself. By 1850 it was moved to the Dr. E. F. Peck General Store on the northwest corner of what is today Ocean Avenue and Lakeland Street. A freight house existed along the tracks close to Pine Avenue. Edgar Fenn Peck owned land as far south as Sayville, and in 1851 sold the store and the land to a developer named Charles Wood, who turned his land into a development named Lakeland Farms, which today includes land in Oakdale, Bohemia, and what is now Ronkonkoma. [7] The original Lake Road station operated simultaneously with the one at the general store on Ocean Avenue, and at some point was renamed "Lake station," until eventually being phased out. No record of the original station's existence can be found after 1857.
Hermanville or Hermannville was another station stop along the Greenport Branch of the Long Island Rail Road, located east of the former Lake Road Station. It first appeared on an 1850 map of the Long Island Rail Road. [8] The station had one side platform, and two tracks. An 1852 advertisement for Hermanville in a few books mention the Long Island Rail Road. [9] [10] Hermannville also made an appearance on the 1855 Colton map. [11] On the Map of The Village of Hermannville, Town of Islip, Suffolk County, Long Island, Hemannville station [12] is shown as being at the intersection of the Main Line and Herman Avenue, [13] [14] which today is part of the Ronkonkoma Yard.
Lake Ronkonkoma station replaced Lakeland station in 1883 and was designed to serve both Lakeland and Ronkonkoma, New York. At some point, the word "Lake" was dropped from the station name. The station house burned on February 7, 1933 [15] and a temporary rectangular one-story building with a gabled roof was used until September 1937, when the second Ronkonkoma station was completed. Throughout much of the 20th century, it also served as a sizable freight hub for central Suffolk County.
Since December 28, 1987, it has been the east end of the Main Line electrification [16] but stations east of Ronkonkoma have been modified for future electrification. The 1937 station was used for storage until it was razed in 1994 when part of the parking lot was extended westward. The current station was designed by architect Richard Henry Behr. [17] Ronkonkoma Yard is also located east of the station, in close proximity to the former Holbrook station, which was torn down in 1962. [18] Ronkonkoma station has also served commuters from the former Holtsville station since its closure in March 1998.
This station is set up using the Spanish solution with three high-level platforms, each 12 cars long. Platform B, an island platform, facilitates a cross-platform interchange when a Ronkonkoma Branch train and a Greenport train arrive at the same time on opposite tracks.
M | Mezzanine | Crossover between platforms and station building |
P Platform level | Platform A, side platform | |
Track 1 | ← Ronkonkoma Branch toward Grand Central Madison or Penn Station (Central Islip) Ronkonkoma Branch limited service toward Greenport (Medford) → Ronkonkoma Branch termination track → | |
Platform B, island platform | ||
Track 2 | ← Ronkonkoma Branch toward Grand Central Madison or Penn Station (Central Islip) Ronkonkoma Branch limited service toward Greenport (Medford) → Ronkonkoma Branch termination track → | |
Platform C, side platform | ||
Ground level | Station building, parking, buses, taxis |
In February 2024, the Federal Aviation Administration approved the Town of Islip's plan to erect a new airport terminal on the north side of MacArthur Airport, adjacent to the south side of the Ronkonkoma LIRR station; the project is to be constructed as part of the Midway Crossing project. [19] [20] The $3.3 billion project will directly connect the Ronkonkoma LIRR station with the new airport terminal via a pedestrian walkway, creating a direct LIRR connection to the airport without needing to transfer to buses or taxis. [19] [20]
The Mid-Suffolk Yard (also known as the Ronkonkoma Yard) is a 23-track train storage yard, located just to the east of the Ronkonkoma Long Island Rail Road station. [21] As this is the eastern end of the electrified portion of the Main Line, the yard stores the LIRR's electric multiple units that are used on the Ronkonkoma Branch. [21]
In preparation for the LIRR's East Side Access expansion to Grand Central Terminal, the MTA added 11 new tracks to the yard, for a total of 23 tracks. [21] The expansion used space already owned by the MTA located immediately to the south of the existing rail yard and north of MacArthur Airport. The increase in storage space allowed the MTA to increase peak-hour service to Manhattan. The project was budgeted for $128.0 million. [22] [23] [24] Locations in Deer Park, Central Islip, and Yaphank were also considered for the construction of the yard. The Deer Park option was dismissed as it would have impacted several grade crossings, duplicated employee facilities and as it would not have benefited riders east of the station. The Central Islip site was dismissed as it would have been located in Connetquot River State Park. The Yaphank option was rejected because of the high cost of electrification and the requirement that stations between Ronkonkoma and Yaphank receive upgrades. [25]
The construction work was initially expected to be finished by late 2018. [24] Construction was to start in September 2017, with completion being pushed back to March 2020. [26] A construction award was finally made in December 2017, and the completion date was pushed back to late 2020. [27] : 32 The yard was completed in November 2020. [28]
The Long Island Rail Road, often abbreviated as the 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 first quarter of 2024.
Port Washington is the terminus of the Long Island Rail Road's Port Washington Branch in Port Washington, New York. The station is located on Main Street, between Haven Avenue and South Bayles Avenue, just west of Port Washington Boulevard, and is 19.9 miles (32 km) from Pennsylvania Station in Midtown Manhattan. A pedestrian bridge exists between the platforms, and is in line with Franklin Avenue, ending at Haven Avenue.
The Port Jefferson Branch is a rail line and service owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. The branch splits from the Main Line just east of Hicksville and runs northeast and east to Port Jefferson. Several stations on the Main Line west of Hicksville are served primarily by trains bound to/from the Port Jefferson branch, so LIRR maps and schedules for the public include that part of the Main Line in the "Port Jefferson Branch" service.
The Ronkonkoma Branch is a rail service operated by the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) in the U.S. state of New York. On LIRR maps and printed schedules, the "Ronkonkoma Branch" includes trains running along the railroad's Main Line from Hicksville to Ronkonkoma, and between Ronkonkoma and the Main Line's eastern terminus at Greenport. The section of the Main Line east of Ronkonkoma is not electrified and is referred to as the Greenport Branch.
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. 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. 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.
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.
Medford is a station in the hamlet of Medford, New York on the Main Line of the Long Island Rail Road. Medford is located on New York State Route 112 between Peconic Avenue and Long Island Avenue. Access to the station is available from a narrow curving roadway leading off Route 112. This roadway used to connected with the Ohio Avenue intersection until Ohio Avenue was closed north of Peconic Avenue in 2007. It is also accessible from the north end of Oregon Avenue, although the Medford Fire Department periodically closes the Oregon Avenue access road for drills or other exercises.
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.
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.
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.
Yaphank is a station in the hamlet of Yaphank, New York on the Main Line of the Long Island Rail Road. It is located on Park Street near Suffolk County Road 21. It is also accessible from streets in and around Suffolk County. The distance between Yaphank and the next station, Riverhead, is the longest distance between stations in the LIRR at 14.7 miles (23.7 km). Government buildings are located on the north side of the tracks at the bottom of the Yaphank Avenue overpass.
Brentwood is a station on the Main Line of the Long Island Rail Road. It is officially located at Suffolk County Road 100 and Brentwood Road in Brentwood, New York. However, it has parking facilities and other amenities that are extended far beyond its given location. The actual station is located across the tracks from the dead end of Eighth Street near Leroy Avenue. The parking lot entrance is on Suffolk Avenue 1⁄2 mile (0.80 km) east of Brentwood Road/Washington Avenue.
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.
Wyandanch is a station along the Main Line of the Long Island Rail Road. It is located on Straight Path and Long Island Avenue, off Acorn Avenue in Wyandanch, New York. All parking near the station is free, and maintained either by Suffolk County or the Town of Babylon.
Pinelawn is a railroad station along the Main Line of the Long Island Rail Road. It is located on Long Island Avenue, just east of the Wellwood Avenue grade crossing in East Farmingdale, New York.
Republic was a station stop along the Ronkonkoma Branch which served employees of the Fairchild Engine & Airplane Manufacturing Company and the nearby Republic Airport from 1940 to the late 1980s. As part of a double-tracking project on the line, the station may be reopened.
East Yaphank is a proposed station in the hamlet of East Yaphank, New York on the Main Line of the Long Island Rail Road. The station would serve Brookhaven National Laboratory and would replace the existing Yaphank station.
Media related to Ronkonkoma (LIRR station) at Wikimedia Commons