Hicksville (LIRR station)

Hicksville

Hicksville Station from Platform A, facing west toward New York
Location Newbridge Road & West Barclay Street
Hicksville, NY
Coordinates 40°46′02″N 73°31′43″W / 40.767101°N 73.528686°WCoordinates: 40°46′02″N 73°31′43″W / 40.767101°N 73.528686°W
Owned by MTA
Platforms 2 island platforms
Tracks 3
Connections Nassau Inter-County Express: n20, n22, n24, n48, n49, n50, n73, n74, n78, n79, n80, n81
Construction
Parking Yes; Town of Oyster Bay permits and private parking garages
Disabled access Yes
Other information
Fare zone 7
History
Opened March 1, 1837
Rebuilt 1873, 1909, 1962
Electrified October 19, 1970
750V (DC) third rail
Traffic
Passengers (2006) 16,215[1]
Services
Preceding station   LIRR   Following station
Main Line
(Ronkonkoma Branch)
toward Greenport
Port Jefferson Branch
Montauk Branch
toward Montauk
Preceding station   LIRR   Following station
1875—1876:
New Cassel station		 Port Jefferson Branch
(current and former locations)		 1952—1973:
Landia station
1875—1876:
Westbury station		 Ronkonkoma Branch
(current and former locations)		 1942—1970s:
Grumman station

Hicksville is a station on the Main Line of the Long Island Rail Road located in Hicksville, New York. It is the busiest station east of Jamaica by combined weekday/weekend ridership. As of May 2011, 133 trains stop at this station every weekday.[2] Most trains for the Port Jefferson Branch stop at Hicksville, and while all trains on the Ronkonkoma Branch pass through this station, a few do not stop. Additionally, three trains via the Montauk Branch stop here daily. Travel time to Penn Station in Manhattan is 40 to 50 minutes, depending on whether the train is local or express.

The station is at Newbridge Road (Route 106) and West Barclay Street. It has two island platforms and three tracks. It is wheelchair accessible, with an elevator to each platform from street level. It is served by 11 Nassau Inter-County Express routes and two cab services on the ground level of the station.

Platforms and tracks

1 ■Main Line toward New York (Westbury)
■Montauk Branch toward New York (Mineola)
2 ■Main Line toward New York (Westbury)
■Montauk Branch toward New York (Mineola)
■Montauk Branch toward Montauk (Babylon)
■Port Jefferson Branch toward Port Jefferson (Syosset)
■Ronkonkoma Branch toward Ronkonkoma (Bethpage)
3 ■Port Jefferson Branch toward Port Jefferson (Syosset)
■Ronkonkoma Branch toward Ronkonkoma (Bethpage)
■Montauk Branch toward New York (Mineola)
■Montauk Branch toward Montauk (Babylon)

There are two island platforms, A and B, and three tracks, with Track 2 between and accessible from each platform. Generally, Platform A is used for westbound trains and Platform B for eastbound trains. Track 1, on the north side of Platform A, is used mostly for trains that terminate or originate at Hicksville, and occasionally freight trains. Track 2 is between platforms A and B, and trains on this track open their doors on both sides. Track 2 is usually used for westbound trains to Penn Station, Atlantic Terminal, or the other New York terminals. Track 3 is normally used for eastbound trains, except on weekday mornings when there are also some westbound trains.

The Port Jefferson Branch to Port Jefferson station splits from the Main Line at DIVIDE Interlocking directly east of the station, on the east side of the bridge over Broadway (NY 107). The Port Jefferson Branch turns northeast, while the Main Line turns southeast on its way towards Ronkonkoma and Greenport; the Main Line also carries Central Branch bound trains carrying commuters toward Babylon station en route to the Montauk Branch.

History

Hicksville station's first depot opened on March 1, 1837, as the temporary terminus of the LIRR. The hamlet and the station were both founded by Valentine Hicks, the son of an abolitionist preacher who also briefly served as an LIRR President. The line expanded to Farmingdale in 1841, after a delay caused by the depression that had begun with the Panic of 1837. In 1854, the station gained a line known as the Hicksville and Syosset Railroad that later became the Port Jefferson Branch of the LIRR. Ten years later on July 15, 1864, the first depot burned down. A second depot opened in September 1873, and was moved to a private location in 1909. The third depot opened on October 30, 1909, and was razed in November 1962 as the current elevated structure was being built.[3] The elevated station opened on September 12, 1964,[4] and was electrified in October 1970.[5]

The station is set to undergo a full renovation beginning in early 2014. Plans for the renovation include replacing station platforms, escalators, waiting rooms, and lighting. Construction is estimated to last through 2017.[6]

Gallery

References

  1. ↑ Average weekday, 2006 LIRR Origin and Destination Study
  2. ↑ "LIRR schedule for Hicksville" (PDF). Retrieved 2011-05-14.
  3. ↑ LIRR Station History (TrainsAreFun.com)
  4. ↑ Maiorana, Ronald (September 13, 1964). "The Watusi Opens New L.I. Station". The New York Times. p. 38. Retrieved 2011-08-08.
  5. ↑ Bamberger, Werner (October 20, 1970). "Change at Jamaica Is Only a Memory For 12,000 Riders". The New York Times. p. 88. Retrieved 2009-09-17.
  6. ↑ Twibell, Cory (May 25, 2012). "All Aboard: LIRR Revamping Hicksville Station". Hicksville Illustrated News. Retrieved 2013-12-08.

External links

Media related to Hicksville (LIRR station) at Wikimedia Commons