Rockville Centre (LIRR station)

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Rockville Centre

Station statistics

Address

North Village Avenue and Front Street
Rockville Centre, New York,

Lines

Babylon Branch

Connections

MTA Long Island Bus
All Island Taxi

Tracks

Parking

Yes

Bicycle facilities

Yes

Other information

Opened

1867

Rebuilt

1881, 1901, 1950

Accessible

Owned by

MTA

Fare zone

Services

Preceding station		Long Island Rail Road		Following station

Lynbrook toward New York terminals		Babylon Branch		Baldwin toward Babylon

Rockville Centre is a major railroad station along the Babylon Branch of the Long Island Rail Road. It is officially located at North Village Avenue and Front Street north of Sunrise Highway in Rockville Centre, New York, however the station property spreads as far west as North Center Avenue and as far east as North Park Avenue. Parking is available throughout the Village of Rockville Centre, within the vicinity of the station for those with residential and non-residential permits. The station also lies east of the Rockville Centre Bus Depot.

Rockville Centre Station was originally built by the South Side Railroad of Long Island on October 28, 1867 and remodeled in July 1881. The station was rebuilt on October 14, 1901, as the original station was moved to a private location that year and razed in 2004. The second station was razed in March 1949 as part of a grade elevation project that would dominate the Babylon Branch throughout the post-WW2 era. A temporary station was built southeast of the former location between April 19-22, 1949.

Rockville Centre Station was the site of a major railroad accident on February 17, 1950 that resulted in the deaths of 31 people, and serious injury of over 100 people. This would occur nine months before a similar accident in Richmond Hill, Queens killed 79 people, and injury of hundreds more. It was the fear of accidents such as these that prompted the LIRR to elevate the tracks throughout Queens, Nassau, and Western Suffolk Counties to begin with. The current elevated structure was opened in July 17-18, 1950, and renovated during the end of the 20th Century.