IND Rockaway Line

The following services use part or all of the IND Rockaway Line:^[2]

Service		Between
	Time period	Aqueduct Racetrack and Broad Channel	Broad Channel and Beach 67th St	Beach 67th St and Far Rockaway	Broad Channel and Beach 90th St	Beach 90th St and Rockaway Park	Beach 67th St and Beach 90th St
	Rush peak	service	most trains		limited service		no service
	Other times		service		no service
	All times	no service			service

The north end of the Rockaway Line is a junction with the IND Fulton Street Line just east of Rockaway Boulevard. The line starts out as tracks F3 and F4 and descend from an elevated structure to the surface. Then the right-of-way widens to be four tracks wide. Trains in service going south then diverge from F3, and go onto F1. Trains coming from the Rockaways merge from track F2 onto track F4. South of this point, track F4 is out of service, and track F3 can only be used by work trains as it is de-energized. The line then continues as a four track line, and south of Howard Beach, the tracks merge into two tracks. The line then passes over Jamaica Bay just to the east of Cross Bay Boulevard, on its own private right-of-way. Then the line passes over the North Channel Swing Bridge.^[3] The crossing across Jamaica Bay between Howard Beach and Broad Channel is the longest distance between any two adjacent stations in the entire New York City Subway system.^[4]

Aerial view of Hammels Wye

In 1997 to 1999, outer tracks were installed to the north of Broad Channel for between $5 million and $10 million.^[5] The track to the west of the original tracks, track F5, extends slightly less than two miles, or 10,300 feet (3,100 m), and is used for testing of equipment.^{[4][6][7][8][9]} The track to the east of the original tracks, track F6, is used for reversing trains on the Rockaway Park shuttle,^[10] and is approximately as long as a standard full length train. This track allows the shuttle to turn around significantly faster than it had been able to do before, when it was forced to relay at Howard Beach–JFK Airport or Euclid Avenue. South of the Broad Channel station is a fixed span leading to the small Subway Island, followed by the Beach Channel Drawbridge, which does open regularly and can cause delays to service when it is open for marine traffic.^[3]

South of the drawbridge is Hammels Wye, a three-legged junction with the Rockaway Park branch, and the Far Rockaway branch. The tracks from each branch connect to the tracks north of the wye with flying junctions. The Rockaway Park Branch turns to the west, and the Far Rockaway Branch turns to the east. The third leg of the wye is a single track that connects the two branches together. This single track, track F6, is not currently used in revenue service. However, it was used as part of the Round Robin service that operated mostly during late nights between 1958 and 1988. It was also used for temporary H service after Hurricane Sandy.^[3]

The Rockaway Park Branch, tracks F3 and F4, goes west via an elevated structure over the Rockaway Freeway before terminating at Rockaway Park–Beach 116th Street. Directly to the north of the station is a seven-track storage yard named Rockaway Park Yard. This yard stores the trains for the Rockaway Park Shuttle. To the south of the station is a single storage track.^[3] The Far Rockaway Branch, tracks F3A and F4A, goes east over the Rockaway Freeway as an elevated and terminates at a two track terminal at Far Rockaway–Mott Avenue.^[3]

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A (New York City Subway service)

A (New York City Subway service)

The A Eighth Avenue Express is a rapid transit service in the B Division of the New York City Subway. Its route emblem, or "bullet", is colored blue since it uses the IND Eighth Avenue Line in Manhattan.

Rockaway Park Shuttle

Rockaway Park Shuttle

The Rockaway Park Shuttle is a New York City Subway shuttle train that operates in Queens. It connects with the A train at Broad Channel station and is the latest iteration of the Rockaway Shuttle services that have been running on the Rockaway peninsula since 1956. This shuttle train provides service to the western part of the peninsula, with a terminus at Rockaway Park–Beach 116th Street. The fully above-ground route operates on trackage that was originally part of the Long Island Rail Road's Far Rockaway Branch until the mid-1950s. During summer weekends, to eliminate an additional transfer and thus ease beach access, the Rockaway Park Shuttle is typically extended four stations north to Rockaway Boulevard, the southernmost station shared by Rockaway-bound and Lefferts Boulevard-bound A trains.

IND Fulton Street Line

IND Fulton Street Line

The IND Fulton Street Line is a rapid transit line of the IND Division of the New York City Subway, running from the Cranberry Street Tunnel under the East River through all of central Brooklyn to a terminus in Ozone Park, Queens. The IND Rockaway Line branches from it just east of Rockaway Boulevard. The A train runs express during daytime hours and local at night on the underground portion of the line; it runs local on the elevated portion of the line at all times. The C train runs local on the underground portion of the line at all times except late nights.

Jamaica Bay

Jamaica Bay

Jamaica Bay is an estuary on the southern portion of the western tip of Long Island, in the U.S. state of New York. The estuary is partially man-made, and partially natural. The bay connects with Lower New York Bay to the west, through Rockaway Inlet, and is the westernmost of the coastal lagoons on the south shore of Long Island. Politically, it is primarily divided between the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens in New York City, with a small part touching Nassau County.

Original railroad use

An A train made up of R32 cars turns from the IND Rockaway Line towards the IND Fulton Street Line.

Construction work at Beach 60th Street

Washed out track support after Hurricane Sandy

Subway Goes To Rockaway

Most of the Rockaway Line dates back to the 1880s when it was operated as the New York, Woodhaven and Rockaway Railroad;^[11] the Far Rockaway station had been in operation since 1869 as part of the South Side Railroad of Long Island.^[12] In 1892, the line first saw service by the Long Island Rail Road from its Atlantic Branch. In the late 1890s, the Brooklyn Elevated Railway (later the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company) received permission to operate elevated trains from Brooklyn on the line for beach access. The city soon began eyeing the line as popularity soared.^[13][14][15] Additionally, the Ocean Electric Railway used part of the line as a connection between the Far Rockaway and Rockaway Beach Branches.

Plans for the New York City Subway to take over the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR)'s Rockaway branches were put forth as early as 1932.^[16]

The Long Island Rail Road's wooden trestle over Jamaica Bay often caught fire. A fire that started at 3:30 on a December night damaged 1,300 feet of the trestle. Service could not be resumed for several days because of a lack of available materials. Therefore, the railroad asked Green Bus Lines to provide service for passengers stranded at Broad Channel and The Raunt. Another took place at The Raunt on December 15, 1948, delaying trains between nine and nineteen minutes during the morning rush hour. 300 feet (91 m) of the trestle was destroyed during a July 4, 1949, fire, and morning rush hour service was delayed the following day. The worst fire, the one that sealed the fate of the line, took place on May 7, 1950. The fire burned all night and destroyed 1,800 feet (550 m) of the trestle between The Raunt and Broad Channel stations, and the estimated cost to repair it was $1 million. As a result, the LIRR deemed the line useless, and instead of repairing it, the LIRR decided to abandon the line in favor of their "land route" to Far Rockaway via Valley Stream in Nassau County.^[17]

Subway conversion

When the railroad made it clear that it was not planning to rebuild the line, the city bought the line on June 11, 1952, for $8.5 million. The LIRR needed the money for its big safety program, which cost $6 million. The New York City Board of Transportation, operators of the subway system, started preparing contracts for the reconstruction of the line right after the sale went through.^[17] In total, $47.5 million was spent to rebuild the line and to convert it for subway use, something they were planning to do as far back as the late 1920s.^[11][18] As part of the construction to convert the line to subway use, two new steel swing bridges were built to cross the North and South Channels, and two artificial islands were built using sand from Jamaica Bay to provide a roadbed for the subway trestle.^{[19][20]: 6 [17]}

Work was completed right before the 1956 summer season, but the power supply was inadequate. Because of a strike, the delivery of substation equipment was delayed.^[21] Trains operated slowly across Jamaica Bay in order to conserve power. The newer R10s were intended to operate over the line, but because they required more power than the Arnines, the Arnines operated on the line. The line was incorporated into the Independent Subway System (IND) and connected to the IND Fulton Street Line. On June 28, 1956, service on the line began between Euclid Avenue and Rockaway Park at 6:38 PM and between Euclid Avenue and Wavecrest at 6:48 PM.^{[17][18][20][22][23]} Once the slow order was removed, the travel time from Euclid Avenue to Rockaway Park decreased from 40 to 28 minutes, and the travel time from Euclid Avenue to Wavecrest decreased from 44 to 32 minutes.^[17]

In September 1956, the New York City Transit Authority announced that the Rockaway revenues were disappointing, as $15,000 was expected to be made every day during the summer, while only $7,000 was made. As a result, there was a $750,000 deficit.^[17] On January 27, 1957, as a result of low ridership, service was reduced from running on eight minute headways to Broad Channel to twelve minute headways. Since service alternated between Rockaway Park and Wavecrest, stations had a train every 24 minutes. The line was built to handle 100,000 daily passengers but was only carrying 6,000.^[24] A new station at Far Rockaway–Mott Avenue opened on January 16, 1958, completing the Rockaway Line.^[25] The completion of the new terminal was delayed due to the slow delivery of steel.^[21]

Later years

The line charged a double fare south of Howard Beach which entailed the deposit of two tokens for those entering along the line or one token on exit for those arriving from other parts of the system. Passengers traveling only within the double-fare zone would request a special "refund ticket", entitling them to a refund upon exiting the system, either in cash or a token.^{[18][20]: 6} The unpopular double fare was abolished on September 1, 1975, though it coincided with a system-wide fare increase, as well as an increase in tolls on the Marine Parkway–Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge and Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge to the Rockaways.^{[26][27][28][29]}

A significant service improvement on the Rockaway Line took effect in 1993, when direct late-night service between Far Rockaway (but not Rockaway Park) and Brooklyn and Manhattan began; previously, only shuttle or Round Robin service was provided during these hours, with a transfer at Euclid Avenue (the Rockaway Park branch remains a shuttle at all times, with a transfer at Broad Channel, although additional direct rush hour service is provided by a limited number of A trains).

The segment of the line between Howard Beach and the Rockaway Peninsula suffered serious damage during Hurricane Sandy and was out of service for several months.^[4] On November 20, 2012, a free shuttle designated as H replaced the Rockaway portion of the A service between Far Rockaway–Mott Avenue and Beach 90th Street via the Hammels Wye. On May 30, 2013, full service was restored.^{[30][31][32][33]} In 2018, a two-phase program of flood mitigation work along the Hammels Wye required further service disruptions. The first phase, from April 9 to May 18, suspended rush-hour A trips to Rockaway Park. The second phase, from July 2 to September 3, diverted all Far Rockaway A trips to Rockaway Park. In both phases, the shuttle ran from Rockaway Park to Far Rockaway.^[34]

During weekends between Memorial Day and Labor Day in 2016 and 2017, weekend service on the Rockaway Park Shuttle was extended from Broad Channel to Rockaway Boulevard to allow passengers on both Lefferts Boulevard and Far Rockaway-bound A trains to transfer to the shuttle and shuttle passengers to transfer to more frequent Manhattan-bound A service at Rockaway Boulevard. The trains were also lengthened to eight cars instead of the usual four.^[35] Since then, the seasonal extension has occurred on an annual basis.^[36]

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A (New York City Subway service)

A (New York City Subway service)

The A Eighth Avenue Express is a rapid transit service in the B Division of the New York City Subway. Its route emblem, or "bullet", is colored blue since it uses the IND Eighth Avenue Line in Manhattan.

Long Island Rail Road

Long Island Rail Road

The Long Island Rail Road, often abbreviated as the LIRR, is a commuter rail system 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. 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 2021, the system had a ridership of 49,167,600, or about 226,100 per weekday as of the third quarter of 2022.

Atlantic Branch

Atlantic Branch

The Atlantic Branch is an electrified rail line owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. It is the only LIRR line with revenue passenger service in the borough of Brooklyn.

Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company

Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company

The Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT) was a public transit holding company formed in 1896 to acquire and consolidate railway lines in Brooklyn and Queens, New York City, United States. It was a prominent corporation and industry leader using the single-letter symbol B on the New York Stock Exchange.

Ocean Electric Railway

Ocean Electric Railway

The Ocean Electric Railway was a street car line that operated on The Rockaways. It ran parallel to parts of the Rockaway Beach Branch and Far Rockaway Branch of the Long Island Rail Road. The headquarters of the OER were at the Far Rockaway Long Island Rail Road station which was then located across Mott Avenue from the existing Far Rockaway–Mott Avenue subway station. The Office of Superintendent - Trolleys at that location managed all the LIRR's owned trolley operations.

Far Rockaway Branch

Far Rockaway Branch

The Far Rockaway 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 Valley Interlocking, just east of Valley Stream station. From Valley Stream, the line heads south and southwest through southwestern Nassau County, ending at Far Rockaway in Queens, thus reentering New York City. LIRR maps and schedules indicate that the Far Rockaway Branch service continues west along the Atlantic Branch to Jamaica. This two-track branch provides all day service in both directions to Grand Central Madison and Penn Station, both in Midtown Manhattan

Jamaica Bay

Jamaica Bay

Jamaica Bay is an estuary on the southern portion of the western tip of Long Island, in the U.S. state of New York. The estuary is partially man-made, and partially natural. The bay connects with Lower New York Bay to the west, through Rockaway Inlet, and is the westernmost of the coastal lagoons on the south shore of Long Island. Politically, it is primarily divided between the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens in New York City, with a small part touching Nassau County.

Green Bus Lines

Green Bus Lines

Green Bus Lines, also referred to simply as Green Lines, was a private bus company in New York City, United States. It operated local service in Queens and express service to Manhattan until January 9, 2006, when the city-operated MTA Bus Company took over its routes. It was managed most recently by Jerome Cooper (1928–2015).

New York City Board of Transportation

New York City Board of Transportation

The New York City Board of Transportation or the Board of Transportation of the City of New York was a city transit commission and operator in New York City, consisting of three members appointed by the mayor. It was created in 1924 to control city-owned and operated public transportation service within the New York City Transit System. The agency oversaw the construction and operation of the municipal Independent Subway System (IND), which was constructed shortly after the Board was chartered. The BOT later presided over the major transfers of public transit from private control to municipal control that took place in the 1940s, including the unification of the New York City Subway in 1940. In 1953, the Board was dissolved and replaced by the state-operated New York City Transit Authority, now part of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA).

R10 (New York City Subway car)

R10 (New York City Subway car)

The R10 was the first series of post-war New York City Subway cars. They were built by the American Car and Foundry Company from 1948 to 1949 for the IND/BMT B Division. A total of 400 cars were built, arranged as single units. Two versions were manufactured: Westinghouse (WH)-powered cars and General Electric (GE)-powered cars. The R10s introduced many innovations, including an all-welded low-alloy high tensile (LAHT) steel construction, dynamic braking, improved propulsion, and various cosmetic features.

Arnines

Arnines

The Arnines (R1-9s) were the 1,703 similar New York City Subway cars built between 1930 and 1940 for the Independent Subway System. All were built by the American Car and Foundry Company, the Pressed Steel Car Company, and Pullman Standard. The name comes from the literal spelling out of the final contract under which these 1,703 cars were ordered – contract "R9".

Independent Subway System

Independent Subway System

The Independent Subway System, formerly known as the Independent City-Owned Subway System (ICOSS) or the Independent City-Owned Rapid Transit Railroad (ICORTR), was a rapid transit rail system in New York City that is now part of the New York City Subway. It was first constructed as the Eighth Avenue Line in Manhattan in 1932.

Station service legend
	Stops all times
	Stops rush hours in the peak direction only
Time period details
	Station is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act
↑	Station is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act in the indicated direction only
↓
	Elevator access to mezzanine only

Neighborhood (approximate)		Station	Services	Opened	Transfers and notes
Ozone Park	splits from the IND Fulton Street Line (A )
		Aqueduct Racetrack	A  (Northbound only)	September 14, 1959	Single side platform for northbound service only
		Aqueduct–North Conduit Avenue	A	June 28, 1956 (subway)
Howard Beach		Howard Beach–JFK Airport	A	June 28, 1956 (subway)	Connection to AirTrain JFK
Broad Channel		Broad Channel	A  ​S	June 28, 1956 (subway)	Q52/Q53 Select Bus Service
Hammels Wye splits to Far Rockaway Branch (A ) & Rockaway Park Branch (A  ​S ) with a connecting track between the two branches (no regular service)
Far Rockaway Branch
Arverne		Beach 67th Street	A	June 28, 1956 (subway)	Q52 Select Bus Service
		Beach 60th Street	A	June 28, 1956 (subway)	Q52 Select Bus Service
Edgemere		Beach 44th Street	A	June 28, 1956 (subway)
		Beach 36th Street	A	June 28, 1956 (subway)
Far Rockaway		Beach 25th Street	A	June 28, 1956 (subway)
		Far Rockaway–Mott Avenue	A	January 16, 1958 (subway)
Rockaway Park Branch
Rockaway Beach		Beach 90th Street	A  ​S	June 28, 1956 (subway)	Q52 Select Bus Service
		Beach 98th Street	A  ​S	June 28, 1956 (subway)	Q53 Select Bus Service
Rockaway Park		Beach 105th Street	A  ​S	June 28, 1956 (subway)
		Rockaway Park–Beach 116th Street	A  ​S	June 28, 1956 (subway)	Q53 Select Bus Service

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Accessibility

Accessibility

Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, vehicles, or environments so as to be usable by people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design and practice of accessible development ensures both "direct access" and "indirect access" meaning compatibility with a person's assistive technology.

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or ADA is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which made discrimination based on race, religion, sex, national origin, and other characteristics illegal, and later sexual orientation and gender identity. In addition, unlike the Civil Rights Act, the ADA also requires covered employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees with disabilities, and imposes accessibility requirements on public accommodations.

Ozone Park, Queens

Ozone Park, Queens

Ozone Park is a neighborhood in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Queens, New York, United States. It is next to the Aqueduct Racetrack in South Ozone Park, a popular spot for Thoroughbred racing and home to the Resorts World Casino & Hotel. Traditionally home to a large Italian-American population, Ozone Park has grown to have many residents of Caribbean, Hispanic, and Asian backgrounds.

IND Fulton Street Line

IND Fulton Street Line

The IND Fulton Street Line is a rapid transit line of the IND Division of the New York City Subway, running from the Cranberry Street Tunnel under the East River through all of central Brooklyn to a terminus in Ozone Park, Queens. The IND Rockaway Line branches from it just east of Rockaway Boulevard. The A train runs express during daytime hours and local at night on the underground portion of the line; it runs local on the elevated portion of the line at all times. The C train runs local on the underground portion of the line at all times except late nights.

A (New York City Subway service)

A (New York City Subway service)

The A Eighth Avenue Express is a rapid transit service in the B Division of the New York City Subway. Its route emblem, or "bullet", is colored blue since it uses the IND Eighth Avenue Line in Manhattan.

Aqueduct Racetrack station

Aqueduct Racetrack station

The Aqueduct Racetrack station is a station on the IND Rockaway Line of the New York City Subway. Located on the west side of Aqueduct Racetrack near Pitkin Avenue in Ozone Park, Queens, it is served by northbound A trains at all times. The station contains four tracks, of which the outer two are in passenger service; the two center express tracks have been disconnected from the line and permanently removed. There is a single side platform next to the northbound local track.

Aqueduct–North Conduit Avenue station

Aqueduct–North Conduit Avenue station

The Aqueduct–North Conduit Avenue station is a station on the IND Rockaway Line of the New York City Subway. Located at North Conduit Avenue near the intersection of Cohancy Street in Ozone Park, Queens, it is served at all times by the A train.