Hempstead Branch

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This article is about the current LIRR service and original branch from Mineola. For the defunct line operated in the 1870s, see Southern Hempstead Branch. For the current form of the Southern Hempstead, see West Hempstead Branch. For the Pennsylvania Railroad line near Dayton, Ohio, see Hempstead Branch (Pennsylvania Railroad).

Hempstead Branch
Hempstead Branch train #757 enters Stewart Manor, due west to Brooklyn.
Overview
StatusOperational
OwnerLong Island Rail Road
LocaleQueens and Nassau County, New York, USA
Termini
  • Hillside Facility
  • Hempstead
Stations10
Service
TypeCommuter rail
SystemLong Island Rail Road
Services
  Hempstead Branch
Operator(s)Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Ridership2,778,998 (annual ridership, 2022)
History
Opened1873 (as part of the Central Railroad of Long Island)
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
ElectrificationThird rail, 750 V DC
Route map
Map
Legend
Main Line
to Penn Station, Grand Central, or Long Island City
Atlantic
9.3 mi
15 km
 Jamaica
"E" train​​"J" train​"Z" train
Far Rockaway Long Beach via Atlantic
Babylon West Hempstead via Montauk
Hillside Facility
11.5 mi
18.5 km
 Hollis
13.2 mi
21.2 km
 Queens Village
Queens
Nassau
Zone 3
Zone 4
Belmont Park
Elmont (eastbound)
14.3 mi
23 km
 Bellerose
14.9 mi
24 km
 Floral Park
Main Line
16.3 mi
26.2 km
 Stewart Manor
17.3 mi
27.8 km
 Nassau Boulevard
18.4 mi
29.6 km
 Garden City
Mitchel Field Secondary
Oyster Bay Branch (former)
19.0 mi
30.6 km
 Country Life Press
West Hempstead Branch (former)
19.8 mi
31.9 km
 Hempstead
Distances shown from Long Island City
This diagram:

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.

LIRR maps and schedules show Hempstead Branch service continuing west along the Main Line to Jamaica. Hempstead Branch trains provide most service at Hollis and Queens Village.[2][3] The line is double tracked to just east of Garden City Station, where it is reduced to one track at Garden Interlocking for the final 1.4 miles (2.3 km) to Hempstead station.

History[edit]

The original Hempstead Branch of the LIRR ran south from Mineola, ending just west of the current terminal in Hempstead.[4] It opened on July 4, 1839, as the first branch of the LIRR.[5]

The Central Railroad of Long Island opened from Flushing east to Hempstead Crossing and south to Hempstead on January 8, 1873; the main line east from Hempstead Crossing opened later that year on May 26.[6] CRRLI extended their line east to Bethpage, Farmingdale, and Babylon resulting in the creation of their own Hempstead Branch running parallel to the one owned by the LIRR. The Central Railroad's successor, the Flushing, North Shore and Central Railroad, was leased to the LIRR on May 3, 1876, and in June a connection at Hempstead Crossing was built, allowing trains from Mineola to use the ex-Central's Hempstead Branch; the original LIRR Hempstead Branch was abandoned south of Hempstead Crossing.[7]

Covert Avenue grade crossing

The old Central main line through Hempstead was named the Central Branch by the LIRR, while the line from Mineola on the LIRR's Main Line south past Hempstead Crossing to Hempstead was the Hempstead Branch.[8] The New York Bay Extension Railroad opened the current West Hempstead Branch in 1893,[9] resulting in a realignment of the Hempstead Branch from Hempstead Crossing south to Meadow Street to better connect to the new line.[10]

Electric service on the current route of the Hempstead Branch, from Queens Village east along the Main Line and Central Branch and south along the Hempstead Branch to Hempstead, was inaugurated on May 26, 1908.[11][12]: 18  In 1910, the branch's connection to the Main Line was double-tracked.[13]: 23  The then-Hempstead Branch north to Mineola was electrified on October 20, 1926, along with the West Hempstead Branch.[14]

The line north of Hempstead Crossing last saw passenger service on September 14, 1935,[15] and was abandoned for freight in 1965.[16] Park Interlocking at Floral Park was eliminated in the circa-1960 grade crossing elimination; Hempstead Branch trains switch off the Main Line at Queens Interlocking, just east of Elmont–UBS Arena station, and continue next to it to Floral Park.[17]

Since the opening of the East River Tunnels in 1910 and until 2023, westbound service on the Hempstead Branch and its predecessors primarily terminated at Penn Station in Manhattan or Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn. Following the opening of Grand Central Madison, the primary terminal and origin of Hempstead Branch trains became Grand Central Terminal. Hempstead trains now service both Penn and Grand Central on and off peak. This service change caused a decrease in service to Atlantic Terminal and thus to compensate and to allow for a few peak cross-platform-transfers at Jamaica for Brooklyn-bound customers, some peak trains from Hempstead service Atlantic Terminal directly.[18]

Projects[edit]

New Elmont station[edit]

The MTA built the Elmont station in Elmont, New York, as part of the Belmont Park redevelopment in the early 2020s. The station includes two new 12-car platforms, and ADA-compliant elevators. The eastbound platform opened first on November 20, 2021.[19][20] The westbound platform officially opened on October 6, 2022.[21][22]

Stations[edit]

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

Zone[23] Location Station Miles (km)
from Long Island City[1] 		Date
opened 		Date
closed 		Connections and notes
3 Jamaica, Queens Hillside Facility July 22, 1991[24] Employees-only station
Hollis, Queens Hollis 11.5 (18.5) 1885 New York City Bus: Q2, Q3
MTA Bus: Q110
Queens Village, Queens
Bellaire 1837 1972 Originally named Flushing Avenue, then Brushville, then Interstate Park, then Brushville Road
Queens Village Disabled access 13.2 (21.2) 1881 New York City Bus: Q1, Q27, Q36, Q83, Q88
Nassau Inter-County Express: n24
4
Elmont Elmont Disabled access November 20, 2021 (eastbound)[19][20]
October 6, 2022 (westbound)[21][22]
Floral Park Bellerose 14.3 (23.0) 1898
Floral Park Disabled access 14.9 (24.0) 1878 Long Island Rail Road: Port Jefferson Branch (limited service)
Garden City Stewart Manor Disabled access 16.3 (26.2) 1873 Nassau Inter-County Express: n25
Nassau Boulevard Disabled access 17.3 (27.8) 1907
Garden City Disabled access 18.4 (29.6) 1872 Nassau Inter-County Express: n40, n41
Country Life Press Disabled access 19.0 (30.6) 1911
Hempstead Rosa Parks Hempstead Transit Center Disabled access 19.8 (31.9) 1872 Nassau Inter-County Express: n6, n6X, n15, n16, n16X, n27, n31, n32, n35, n40, n41, n48, n49, n54, n55, n70, n71, n72, Mercy Medical Shuttle
Short Line Bus: 495

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Long Island Rail Road (May 14, 2012). "TIMETABLE No. 4" (PDF). p. VII. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  2. ^ "MTA Railroads Map". New York: Metropolitan Transportation Authority. March 16, 2023.
  3. ^ a b "LIRR Hempstead Branch Timetable". New York: Metropolitan Transportation Authority. May 23, 2023.
  4. ^ Map showing the route & connections of the Central Rail Road Extension Company of Long Island, 1873
  5. ^ "PRR Chronology, 1839" (PDF). (82.7 KiB), June 2004 Edition
  6. ^ "PRR Chronology, 1873" (PDF). (100 KiB), February 2005 Edition
  7. ^ "PRR Chronology, 1876" (PDF). (116 KiB), April 2006 Edition
  8. ^ Pennsylvania Railroad, Long Island Railroad map Archived July 24, 2012, at archive.today, 1941
  9. ^ Interstate Commerce Commission, Valuation Report, Long Island Railroad Archived January 12, 2002, at archive.today
  10. ^ Arrt's Arrchives: Hempstead Crossing
  11. ^ "Hurrah at Hempstead Over the Third Rail". The Brooklyn Times Union. May 20, 1908. p. 5. Retrieved September 21, 2021 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  12. ^ "The Long Island Railroad Twenty-Seventh Annual Report For The Year Ending December 31st, 1908". Report of ..., Trustee[S] of the Property of the Debtor, for the Year Ended ...1949-1953. Long Island Railroad Company. 1909.
  13. ^ "The Long Island Railroad Thirtieth Annual Report For The Year Ending December 31st, 1911". Report of ..., Trustee[S] of the Property of the Debtor, for the Year Ended ...1949-1953. Long Island Railroad Company. 1912.
  14. ^ "PRR Chronology, 1926" (PDF). (101 KiB), June 2004 Edition
  15. ^ "PRR Chronology, 1935" (PDF). (47.8 KiB), August 2004 Edition
  16. ^ "PRR Chronology, 1965" (PDF). (83.5 KiB), June 2004 Edition
  17. ^ Floral Park Station History (TrainsAreFun)
  18. ^ "Changes to LIRR Hempstead Branch service in 2023". MTA. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
  19. ^ a b "1st new LIRR station in 50 years opening just in time for Islanders homecoming at UBS Arena". ABC7 New York. November 16, 2021. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
  20. ^ a b Parry, Bill (November 18, 2021). "New LIRR station opens near Belmont Park in time for Islanders' first home game at UBS Arena – QNS.com". QNS.com. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
  21. ^ a b Schnapp, Howard (October 6, 2022). "Bi-directional service is coming to the Elmont UBS Arena LIRR station". Newsday. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  22. ^ a b "Long Island Rail Road's Elmont-UBS Arena Station is open for game day transportation". WSHU. October 7, 2022. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
  23. ^ "New Fares — Effective April 21, 2019". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  24. ^ Fan, Maureen (July 23, 1991). "Cold Reception for Hot LIRR Shop". Newsday. Suffolk County, New York. pp. 6, 27. Retrieved September 21, 2021 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon

External links[edit]

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