Port Jefferson Branch

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.

Port Jefferson Branch
DE30AC #400 enters Stony Brook station westbound from Port Jefferson in 2008.
Overview
Type	Commuter rail
System	Long Island Rail Road
Status	Operational
Locale	Nassau and Suffolk County, New York, USA
Termini	Hicksville Huntington Port Jefferson
Stations	10
Services	Port Jefferson Branch
Operation
Opened	1854-1873
Owner	Long Island Rail Road
Operator(s)	Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Electrification	750 V (DC) third rail (west of Huntington)
Route map Main Line to Penn Station & Long Island City Atlantic 9.3 mi 15 km Jamaica ​​​ Far Rockaway Long Beach via Atlantic Babylon West Hempstead via Montauk Hillside Facility Queens Nassau Zone 3 Zone 4 Belmont Park Hempstead intermediate stops Bellerose 14.9 mi 24 km Floral Park Hempstead 16.2 mi 26.1 km New Hyde Park 17.3 mi 27.8 km Merillon Avenue 18.6 mi 29.9 km Mineola Oyster Bay Zone 4 Zone 7 20.4 mi 32.8 km Carle Place 21.4 mi 34.4 km Westbury 24.8 mi 39.9 km Hicksville Ronkonkoma Montauk via Main Landia (closed) 29.1 mi 46.8 km Syosset Nassau Suffolk Zone 7 Zone 9 31.9 mi 51.3 km Cold Spring Harbor Huntington Team Track 34.7 mi 55.8 km Huntington (end electrification) 37.4 mi 60.2 km Greenlawn Northport Branch 39.6 mi 63.7 km Northport Zone 9 Zone 10 43.4 mi 69.8 km Kings Park KPPC Branch 47.1 mi 75.8 km Smithtown 49.9 mi 80.3 km St. James Flowerfield (closed) 53.1 mi 85.5 km Stony Brook Setauket (closed) 57.5 mi 92.5 km Port Jefferson 57.5 mi 92.5 km Wading River Extension 57.5 mi 92.5 km Wading River Extension Miller Place Rocky Point Shoreham Wading River Distances shown from Pennsylvania Station

The Port Jefferson Branch is one of the busiest branches of the LIRR, with frequent electric service to Huntington where electrification ends, and diesel service east of Huntington continues to Port Jefferson. The MTA also refers to the line as the "Huntington/Port Jefferson Branch" or "Huntington Branch".

Service

Port Jefferson Branch service (as distinct from the piece of railroad called the Port Jefferson Branch) extends east from Floral Park, where the Hempstead Branch separates from the Main Line. The line west of Huntington is electrified and double tracked. Electrification extends to a point east of Huntington before Greenlawn station on a layup track for electric trains. East of there the line is single track with passing sidings at Greenlawn, east of East Northport, Kings Park, Smithtown and Stony Brook allowing trains traveling in opposite directions to pass each other.

Electric trains on the branch operate between Penn Station and Huntington, providing local service on the branch; additional weekday service operates between Penn Station and Hicksville. Trains to the Ronkonkoma Branch provide supplemental service; these usually run express, stopping only at Mineola and/or Hicksville. Additional service to Mineola is provided by Oyster Bay Branch trains, and a handful of Montauk Branch trains also stop at Mineola and Hicksville on weekdays; one Montauk-bound train makes a stop at Hicksville overnight, though the vast majority of Montauk Branch trains that run on the branch do not stop. Service on the unelectrified portion of the branch between Port Jefferson and Huntington is usually provided by diesel shuttles running between Port Jefferson and either Huntington or Hicksville, where customers transfer to electric trains for service to New York City. During rush hours, the branch sees extra service, including direct electric service to Atlantic Terminal, service to Penn Station that bypasses Jamaica, and direct service to Hunterspoint Avenue, Long Island City, or Penn Station from stations east of Huntington.

Stations on the electrified portion that have the heaviest traffic include Mineola, Hicksville, and Huntington. On the non-electrified portion, the heaviest traffic tends to be to the Stony Brook station where Stony Brook University is located.

Infrastructure improvements

New Electric Yard

The branch has no yard to store electric trains; east of Huntington, a single layup track with room for three trainsets is used for storage. Because of this lack of space, electric trains must deadhead from as far away as the West Side Yard in Manhattan, around 37 miles (60 km) away from Huntington, for rush-hour service.

Construction of a new electric yard would rectify this issue and allow the LIRR to increase branch service when East Side Access is completed and service to Grand Central Terminal begins. In the early 2000s, the MTA performed environmental studies evaluating over a dozen sites between Huntington and Smithtown for usage as a yard.[1] Electrification of the line would have to be extended if a site beyond Huntington was chosen; a site near Huntington would eliminate this need. Communities near the sites opposed the MTA's efforts to advance work on a new yard, arguing that the MTA was too secretive and that the increased train service and train movements would hurt their communities and decrease their quality of life. One commenter asserted that a yard would turn the communities along the line into the MTA's "storage closet" for East Side Access. Some opponents of the plan also argued that the MTA should extend electrification to Port Jefferson to utilize the existing diesel rail yard there, but a full electrification of the line would add more expenses to the project.[2][3]

The MTA neglected to provide any funding for the project in its 2005-2009 Capital Program, deferring it until 2015. The agency budgeted $8 million in its 2015-2019 Capital Program to conduct new environmental studies, create new designs and acquire land for a new electric yard. Construction would be funded in a future Capital Program.[4][5] As of 2019, the MTA was also considering other options, such as extending electrification and/or a second track from Huntington to Port Jefferson.[6]

Third track between Floral Park and Hicksville

The Post Avenue Bridge near Westbury station, which was replaced in October 2017 to accommodate a third track

To accommodate an expected increase in Long Island Rail Road ridership once the East Side Access project to Grand Central Terminal is completed and to expand local and reverse peak service, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority plans to build a third Main Line track from Floral Park to Hicksville.[7][8] Also known as the LIRR Expansion Project, this would include purchasing properties in the track's right of way, eliminating grade crossings (in conjunction with New York State Department of Transportation), relocating existing stations, and reconfiguring Mineola Station. The project was stalled by fierce opposition from the villages of Floral Park, New Hyde Park, and Garden City,[9][10][11] which advocated that construction and the resulting increased train service will reduce the quality of life in their neighborhoods. These villages do, however, support the station improvements and the elimination of grade crossings that the LIRR has planned in conjunction with the third track, and called for the LIRR to complete them in lieu of third track expansion, but the MTA has long insisted that a third track is a necessary component of LIRR's East Side Access expansion.[12] In March 2015, LIRR president Patrick Nowakowski declared that the LIRR would not proceed with the project without the support of the local communities.[13]

Small segments of the third track have been built already or will be built. One segment is between Merillon Avenue and Mineola; this section was built in the vicinity of Herricks Road during the grade crossing elimination project that took place in 1998.[14] Another segment will be built as part of the upcoming station renovation at Hicksville. This construction will connect Track 1 at Hicksville station to the North Siding track located about 3,000 feet (910 m) west of the station. This short segment, when completed, will essentially serve as the eastern end of the future third track; it will also allow for a slight increase in peak-hour service.[15][16] The MTA has also left provisions for a third track in construction of other infrastructure along the line, such as the Mineola Intermodal Center located adjacent to Mineola station, Mineola Blvd Bridge, Roslyn Road Underpass in Mineola, and the replacement Ellison Avenue Bridge over the Main Line in Westbury.[17][18][19][20]

In January 2016, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a transportation improvement plan which included several million dollars in funding to restart third track development.[21][22] Governor Cuomo said that unlike previous third track proposals, his plan involves building the third track within existing LIRR right of way, which will reduce the number of existing homes and businesses affected by installation of the third track.[23] While previous proposals would have affected around 250 properties, 80 of which were homes, Governor Cuomo's proposal would only require taking small amounts of property from 50 properties in total, including around 20 homes.[23] This reduction in properties affected is to be accomplished by shifting the alignments of tracks in some areas to make room for the third track within the right-of-way and building a shorter third track than previous proposals, resulting in a 9.8-mile (15.8 km) three-track segment starting at Floral Park, the easternmost station shared by the Hempstead Branch and Main Line, instead of the previously planned 11.5-mile (18.5 km) segment starting from Queens Village, where the Hempstead Branch and Main Line split from a 4-track corridor into two distinct pairs of tracks.[21][24] Despite the promise of mitigation efforts, several local politicians denounced the governor's plan within a day of its announcement; Floral Park's mayor told The New York Times that "we thought this was dead and buried",[21] while New Hyde Park's mayor pledged to "fight the governor vehemently on this" and a local state senator called the governor's plan "dead on arrival."[25]

In December 2017, the LIRR awarded a contract for the project to the consortium 3rd Track Constructors for $1.8 billion, with construction beginning in 2018 and completion estimated for 2022.[26][27][28] The first part of the contract includes the reconstruction of the Carle Place, Mineola, and Floral Park stations; the construction or reconstruction of six railroad crossings and underpasses; and the construction of a parking structure at Mineola station. These projects will start between winter 2018 and winter 2019.[29] A groundbreaking ceremony for the third track project was held on September 5, 2018.[30][31]

History

The line from Hicksville to Syosset was chartered in 1853 as the Hicksville and Syosset Railroad and opened in 1854. The LIRR later planned to extend to Cold Spring Harbor, but Oliver Charlick, the LIRR's president, disagreed over the station's location, so Charlick abandoned the grade and relocated the extension south of Cold Spring, refusing to add a station stop near Cold Spring for years. Another argument at Huntington led to the line bypassing the town two miles (3 km) to the south, though a station was built. The line was extended from Syosset past Huntington to Northport in 1868,[32] and in 1873 the 1870-chartered Smithtown and Port Jefferson Railroad opened from a mile south of Northport to Port Jefferson,[33] turning the old line into Northport into the Northport Branch, the result of another argument between Charlick and Northport.[34]

The Woodville Road Bridge in Shoreham which once carried the Wading River Extension of the branch.

The Port Jefferson Branch was extended to Wading River in 1895, and became known as the Wading River Branch. The line was once slated to continue eastward and rejoin the Main Line at either Riverhead or Calverton. From 1905 to 1928, Wading River was also the site of an LIRR demonstration farm. The other one was east of Medford station on the Main Line.

The grade crossing with New York Avenue in Huntington was eliminated in 1909 as that road was lowered below grade.[35]^:53 In 1910 and 1911 work was undertaken to reduce grades and eliminate sharp curves along the line between Syosset and Huntington. The project eliminated grade crossings, shortened the line by 3,300 feet (1.0 km), and provided two million yards of excavated material that could be used for the reconstruction of Jamaica station.[36]^:21–22 In 1911, the line's second track was extended from Hicksville to Cold Spring.[37]^:22 In 1985, the second track was extended from just East of Syosset to just West of Huntington to alleviate a single-track bottleneck.

The line east of Port Jefferson was abandoned in 1938. The right-of-way is now owned by the Long Island Power Authority and used for power lines but there are plans to create a rail trail for bicycling, running, and walking.[38] The Port Jefferson Branch was electrified from Mineola to Huntington Station in 1970. The former Northport Branch was abandoned in 1985, and the Kings Park Psychiatric Center spur (see below) was abandoned in 1988.

Kings Park Psychiatric Center Spur

Kings Park Psychiatric run-off also known as KPPC is an abandoned spur off the Port Jefferson Branch for the Kings Park Psychiatric Center. This spur started just west of Kings Park station, ran north of the station house, crossed Indian Head Road (Suffolk CR 14) and then curved north to cross New York State Route 25A, where it ran along the western edge of the hospital property, and ended at the Hospital's coal power plant.

This spur was first used in 1896 for coal and passenger use on Sundays.[35]^:78 The route was the second largest spur in the Long Island Rail Road system when it was first completed. The route came to an end during the late 1980s.[39] Nowadays, this abandoned route is a Right-of-way for biking and is open to the public today. Also, today, only small fragments of rail remain as it most of it was removed during the demise of the complex.[40]

On a small note, electrification reached from Mineola to Hicksville & Huntington in 1970. For 15 years from Amott Interlocking east of Syosset Station to west of Huntington it was single-tracked. In 1985, the LIRR constructed a second electrified track in that area to avoid the single track bottle neck, this included Cold Spring Harbor adding a second platform.

Electrification

In 1970, electrification was extended from Mineola to Huntington, the eastern limit of electrification on the branch. Since then, the LIRR has aspired to extend electrification beyond Huntington. In the 1980s, the railroad prepared to extend electrification to at least Northport, or Smithtown, although electrification of the Ronkonkoma Branch on the Main Line was seen as a higher priority, in part because the Main Line's central location in Suffolk County would benefit a larger number of people.

In December 1983, the LIRR announced that it was taking steps in the electrification of the branch, with the first step being the addition of a second electrified track between Huntington and Syosset. The second built along the south side of the existing track.[41] The second track was expected to be open in 1986. In August 1983, Long Island Lighting Company started relocating its power line along the right-of-way between these points. The following month a contract to prepare the site and to construct the roadbed for the track was awarded for $9.5 million. In December 1983, grading and construction work was expected to begin that month, and track installation was scheduled to be completed by the end of 1985. As part of the project, the 800 feet (240 m) south platform was to be extended to accommodate 12-car trains. The design of the project to Northport was completed, and preliminary designs were expected to be completed by early 1984.[42]

Bruce McIver, president of the LIRR at the time, estimated in 1986 that electrification of the branch would cost $320 million, including new rolling stock. He argued that the limited funds the railroad had set aside for electrification would be better spent on other improvements, such as signal and yard upgrades near Penn Station. Financial constraints acted as another obstacle to electrification to Northport.[43] McIver also did not want to electrify the branch in a piecemeal fashion and wanted to wait until the railroad had the funds to electrify from Huntington to Port Jefferson all at once. In anticipation of electrification, from late 1985 to early 1986, the LIRR built full-length high-level platforms at all stations between Huntington and Port Jefferson. Because electrification has not occurred, these 12-car platforms are unique in the LIRR's diesel territory; the high-level platforms along the Montauk, Greenport and Oyster Bay diesel branches are all much shorter. Work to install centralized traffic control between Smithtown and Port Jefferson started in fall 1974 and was completed in March 1975. This project was intended to improve safety and to increase train speed. The change allowed trains to run in more than one direction at a time in single-track territory with the use of passing sidings.[44]

On June 9, 1986, the double-tracking of the line between Syosset and Huntington was completed, and seven additional trains were added to the schedule.[45] The second track speeded some trips by up to 15 minutes. The $41 million project started in September 1983 and included the widening of bridges at West Rogues Path and Woodbury Road.[46]

Instead of electrification, the LIRR ultimately pursued dual-mode locomotives that could switch between diesel power and electric power to serve Penn Station (where diesel emissions are banned). Senator Norman Levy said that "The people who ride the line would have just about all the positive aspects of electrification with this proposal."[47] The LIRR's dual mode locomotives debuted in the late 1990s, providing two round trips during weekday rush hours between Penn Station and Port Jefferson, the first time a one-seat ride was available.[48]

Proposed electrification extension

In 2015, multiple parties renewed calls for electrification of the branch. The LIRR estimated that electrification would cost up to $18 million per track mile, so electrification of the 23 miles from Huntington to Port Jefferson could cost approximately $414 million.[49][50][51] In its 20-Year Needs Assessment, the agency lists electrification eastward as a long-term goal.[52]

In September 2018, LIRR President Phillip Eng said the LIRR is still exploring the possibility of electrifying the remaining section of track between Huntington and Port Jefferson.[53]

Grade crossing eliminations

The Port Jefferson Branch has also been known to have the most hazardous grade crossings in the country. On April 28, 1998, a bridge over Herricks Road opened, replacing a grade crossing which was once "labeled the most hazardous in the United States by the National Transportation Safety Board." The grade-crossing elimination project was initiated after an incident on March 14, 1982, when a van with ten teenagers got struck at the rail crossing with the crossing gates down, killing nine of them. The project took five years and cost $85 million. Work continued for a year to widen the overpass to allow for a future third track.[54]

Other crossings eliminated along the branch include Mineola Boulevard in Mineola (1930), crossings within Hicksville when the station was elevated in the early 1960s, and Charlotte Avenue in Hicksville (1973). Ten years later Roslyn Road also in Mineola was eliminated in the same fashion. Several hazardous crossings still exist west of Huntington, including Robbins Lane and Jackson Avenue in Syosset; School Street in Westbury; Willis Avenue and Main Street in Mineola; then New Hyde Park Road, and 12th Street in New Hyde Park. East of Huntington, Main Street in Port Jefferson is considered quite hazardous.

The Third Track project is expected to close seven grade crossings, namely those in Westbury, Mineola, and New Hyde Park.[55][56]

In late-2018 when the Third Track Project officially got underway, the first two crossings that would undergo elimination would be Urban Avenue in Westbury, and Covert Avenue in New Hyde Park. Construction to eliminate began from February–April 2019 with the closures of both roads. On the weekend of July 20–21, 2019, the trestle that will carry the three tracks was installed at Urban Avenue. After construction of retaining walls, pedestrian walkway, and the repaving of the road, Urban Avenue was officially reopened on September 5, 2019. Covert Avenue underwent the installation of a three-track trestle on August 24–25 and reopened on October 12th, 2019. Main Street in Mineola, the pedestrian crossing at Mineola's station, and 12th Street in New Hyde Park will be permanently closed to pedestrian and vehicular traffic. The remaining crossings will be officially eliminated by mid-2021.

Stations

West of New Hyde Park, trips go on to terminate at Penn Station, Hunterspoint Avenue, Atlantic Terminal, or Jamaica.[57] Stations east of Port Jefferson on the former Wading River Branch were abandoned on October 3, 1938.

Zone[58]	Location	Station	Miles (km) from NYP[59]	Date opened	Date closed	Connections / notes
4	New Hyde Park	New Hyde Park	16.2 (26.1)	c. 1837		Nassau Inter-County Express: n24, n25 Originally named Hyde Park
	Garden City Park	Merillon Avenue	17.3 (27.8)	1837		Originally named Clowesville, then Garden City
	Mineola	Mineola	18.6 (29.9)	1837[60]		Long Island Rail Road: Ronkonkoma, Montauk, Oyster Bay branches Nassau Inter-County Express: n22, n22X, n23, n24, n40, n41 Originally named Hempstead, then Branch or Hempstead Branch
7	Carle Place	Carle Place	20.4 (32.8)	1842[61]		Nassau Inter-County Express: n22 Originally named Carll Place
	Westbury	Westbury	21.4 (34.4)	1837[60]		Nassau Inter-County Express: n22, n35
	New Cassel	New Cassel		1875	1876
	Hicksville	Hicksville	24.8 (39.9)	1837[60]		Long Island Rail Road: Ronkonkoma Branch Nassau Inter-County Express: n20H, n22, n48, n49, n78, n79, n80
	Syosset
		Landia		1952	1973
		Syosset	29.1 (46.8)	1854
		Woodbury		1875	c. 1901	Replaced by Cold Spring Harbor
9	West Hills	Cold Spring Harbor	31.9 (51.3)	c. 1901
	Huntington	Huntington	34.7 (55.8)	1868		Suffolk County Transit: S1 Terminus of electrification
	Greenlawn	Greenlawn	37.4 (60.2)	c. 1868		Huntington Area Rapid Transit: H30 Originally named Centreport
	East Northport	Northport	39.6 (63.7)	1873		Suffolk County Transit: S41 Huntington Area Rapid Transit: H40 Originally named New Northport, then Northport East
10	Kings Park	Kings Park	43.4 (69.8)	1872		Suffolk County Transit: S56 Originally named St. Johnsland
	Smithtown	Smithtown	47.1 (75.8)	1872		Suffolk County Transit: S45, S56, S58
	St. James	St. James	49.9 (80.3)	1873
		Flowerfield		1910	1958
	Stony Brook	Stony Brook	53.1 (85.5)	1873		Suffolk County Transit: 3D, S60, S69, S76 SBU Transit: Outer Loop, Railroad Routes 1, Railroad Route 2
	Setauket-East Setauket	Setauket		1873	c. 1980
	Port Jefferson Station	Port Jefferson	57.5 (92.5)	1873		Suffolk County Transit: S60, S61, S62, S69, S76 Port Jefferson Jitney
	Miller Place	Miller Place	60.5 (97.4)	1898	1938
	Rocky Point	Rocky Point	64.4 (103.6)	1898	1938	Freight house still exists as a lumber yard
	Shoreham	Shoreham	65.7 (105.6)	1900	1938
	Wading River	Wading River	68.7 (110.6)	1895	1938

References

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External links

Template:Attached KML/Port Jefferson Branch

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• NYCSubway.org Port Jefferson Line
• Wading River Branch (Arrt's Arrchives)
• Port Jefferson Branch (The LIRR Today)