Port Jefferson Branch

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The Port Jefferson Branch of the Long Island Rail Road runs eastward from New York City to Port Jefferson Station, New York and serves central Nassau County and the North Shore of Suffolk County. It is one of the busier branches of the LIRR, with frequent electric service to Huntington, and diesel service east of Huntington.

The term "Port Jefferson Branch" technically refers to the portion of the LIRR system that branches north from the Main Line at the Divide Interlocking east of Hicksville. The Main Line runs east from Pennsylvania Station to Greenport, and was the original route that chartered railroad service from New York to Boston. Service from the Divide Interlocking to Greenport is represented by the Ronkonkoma Branch. For the purposes of this article, Port Jefferson Branch refers to the service running on the Main Line from New Hyde Park to Hicksville, and then branching off to Port Jefferson, as shown on public timetables and maps.

The Port Jefferson Branch formerly extended to Wading River, and was once slated to continue eastward and rejoin the Main Line at Riverhead. The line east of Port Jefferson was abandoned in 1938. The right-of-way is now used for the Long Island Power Authority's power lines.

Service on the Port Jeff line in Nassau County begins when the Hempstead Branch separates from the Main Line at the Queens Interlocking in Bellerose. The line from Queens Interlocking to Huntington is electrified and double tracked. Electrification extends to a point east of Huntington before Greenlawn Station on a layup track for electric trains. The line east of that point is not electrified and has a single track with passing sidings at Greenlawn (infrequently used), east of Northport, Kings Park, Smithtown and Stony Brook.

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 the State University of New York at Stony Brook is located.

There are occasional plans to electrify this line past Huntington, at least to Northport, in conjunction with the construction of a planned new electric train yard, to alleviate overcrowding and service limitations on the Ronkonkoma Branch, and to otherwise accommodate increased ridership expected once the East Side Access project to Grand Central Terminal is completed.

Also, to accommodate increased services, the MTA has budgeted for a third Main Line track from Bellerose to Mineola in its 2005-2009 capital program. Eventually, the track would be extended to Hicksville. The project will involve purchasing properties in the track's right of way, eliminating grade crossings (in conjunction with NYSDOT), relocating existing stations, and rebuilding Mineola Station to provide for a third track. Fierce opposition comes from the villages of Floral Park and New Hyde Park, which say the project and the resulting increased train service will deteriorate their neighborhoods. The latter village had already recently spent money replacing fences along the railroad tracks.

Most Port Jefferson electric trains operate the full route from Penn Station to Huntington. Supplemental service is provided on Ronkonkoma Branch trains to Mineola and Hicksville. Additional service to Mineola is provided by Oyster Bay Branch trains, and a Patchogue-bound train also stops at Mineola during the weekdays. During off-peak hours, including weekends, a diesel shuttle runs between either Hicksville or Huntington and Port Jefferson. During rush hours, there are specialized services to and from stations west of, and including, Huntington Station. These services provide for express service, through service to Flatbush Avenue, and service to Penn Station that bypasses Jamaica. Also, East-of-Huntington service is extended to Jamaica, Hunterspoint Avenue, Long Island City, or Penn Station.

[edit] Station listing

Station / Location	Station link	Miles (Kilometers) to Penn Station	Connections/Notes
For continuing service to Jamaica and points west, see City Terminal Zone
Hillside Facility			Employees-only station
Floral Park (limited service) Tulip Avenue and Atlantic Avenue, Floral Park	[1]	16.9
New Hyde Park New Hyde Park and 2nd Avenue, New Hyde Park	[2]	18.2 (29.3)	Bus (MTA Long Island Bus): N24, N25
Merillon Avenue Nassau Boulevard and Merillon Avenue, New Hyde Park	[3]	19.3 (31.1)
Mineola Front Street and Mineola Boulevard, Mineola	[4]	20.5 (33.0)	Transfer to Oyster Bay Branch trains Bus (MTA Long Island Bus): N22, N23, N24, N40, N41, N78, N79
Carle Place Cherry Lane and Atlantic Avenue, Carle Place	[5]	22.4 (36.0)	Bus (MTA Long Island Bus): N22
Westbury Union Avenue and Post Avenue Westbury	[6]	23.4 (37.7)	Bus (MTA Long Island Bus): N22, N35
Hicksville Newbridge Road (Route 106) and West Barclay Street, Hicksville	[7]	26.8 (43.1)	Transfer to Ronkonkoma Branch trains Bus (MTA Long Island Bus): N20, N22, N48, N49, N50, N73, N74, N78, N79, N80, N81, N94
Landia Locust Grove			closed
Syosset Oyster Bay Road/Jackson Avenue and Underhill Avenue, Syosset	[8]	31.0 (49.9)
Cold Spring Harbor West Pulaski Road and East Gate Drive, Cold Spring Harbor	[9]	34.0 (54.7)
Huntington New York Avenue (Route 110) and Broadway, Huntington Station	[10]	36.6 (58.9)	Bus (Suffolk County Transit): S1 Bus (Huntington Area Rapid Transit): H9
Greenlawn Broadway (Centerport Road) and Boulevard Avenue, Greenlawn	[11]	39.4 (63.4)	Bus (Huntington Area Rapid Transit): H4, H6
Northport Village Northport			closed 1899
Northport Larkfield Road and Bellerose Avenue, Northport	[12]	42.5 (68.4)	Bus (Suffolk County Transit): S41 Bus (Huntington Area Rapid Transit): H4, H6
Kings Park Indian Head Road and Main Street, Kings Park	[13]	45.3 (72.9)	Bus (Suffolk County Transit): S56
Smithtown Redwood Lane and Scott Lane, Smithtown	[14]	49.0 (78.9)	Bus (Suffolk County Transit): S45
St. James Lake Avenue and 2nd Street, St. James	[15]	51.5 (82.9)
Flowerfield Head of the Harbor			closed 1958
Stony Brook North Country Road (Route 25A) and Chapman Street, Stony Brook	[16]	55.1 (88.7)	Bus (Suffolk County Transit): S71, S76, 3D
Setauket Setauket			closed
Port Jefferson Route 112 (Main Street) and Oakland Avenue, Port Jefferson Station	[17]	59.4 (95.6)	Bus (Suffolk County Transit): S60, S61, S62, S69, S76, 5A Ferry to Bridgeport, Connecticut at Port Jefferson
Miller Place Miller Place			closed October 9, 1938
Rocky Point Rocky Point			closed October 9, 1938
Shoreham Shoreham			closed October 9, 1938
Wading River Wading River			closed October 9, 1938

[edit] External links

• MTA Long Island Rail Road
• NYCSubway.org Port Jefferson Line