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The Long Island Rail Road or '''LIRR''' (often referred to as the "L-I-double-R") is a by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority , which has styled it ''MTA Long Island Rail Road''. In addition to commuter trains, the LIRR runs trains for travelers to eastern Long Island, including the famous express '' Cannonball '' to The Hamptons , operated since the 1890s. Freight service on the system has been operated by the New York And Atlantic Railway since 1997, including three freight-only branches and Bay Ridge Yard in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn . The current LIRR Logo combines the circular MTA logo with the text "Long Island Rail Road", and appears on the sides of trains. TERMINALS ]] The LIRR has three western ( New York City ) terminals. Pennsylvania Station , in Midtown Manhattan , is the busiest of the three, serving almost 500 daily trains. It is reached via the Amtrak -owned East River Tunnels (the only LIRR-used trackage not owned by the LIRR) from the Main Line in Long Island City . The New York City Subway 's 34th Street–Penn Station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line) and 34th Street–Penn Station (IND Eighth Avenue Line) stations are located next to the terminal. Flatbush Avenue station in Downtown Brooklyn serves most other trains. It is located next to the New York City Subway 's Atlantic Avenue–Pacific Street station complex, providing easy access to Lower Manhattan . station and yard]] A handful of daily trains run to Hunterspoint Avenue or beyond to Long Island City on the East River in Long Island City . From Hunterspoint Avenue, the Hunters Point Avenue (IRT Flushing Line) subway station can be reached for Midtown Manhattan access. Access to a third major terminal is currently under construction. In 2013 the LIRR intends to initiate service to , 2006 ]] and bypass tracks. At Jamaica, passengers can transfer between trains of all services but the Port Washington Branch . Transfer is also made to separate facilities for two different subway lines (at the Sutphin Boulevard/Archer Avenue–JFK station), a number of Bus routes, and the AirTrain automated electric rail system to JFK Airport . LIRR: Jamaica LINES AND SERVICES See Also: List of former Long Island Rail Road lines All services except the Port Washington Branch pass through Jamaica ; the trackage west of Jamaica (except to Port Washington) is known as the City Terminal Zone . The City Terminal Zone includes portions of the Main Line and Atlantic and Montauk Branches, as well as the Amtrak -owned East River Tunnels to Penn Station. The Main Line runs from Long Island City east to Greenport ; trains using the East River Tunnels from New York Penn Station join the line at Sunnyside Yard . It is electrified west of Ronkonkoma ; diesel trains continue to Greenport. The services that run along this line are named after the branches that they use; trains beyond Hicksville , where the Port Jefferson Branch splits, are known as Ronkonkoma Branch and sometimes Greenport Branch trains. A short unnamed electric branch from Queens Village serves Belmont Park on race days. The Montauk Branch runs from Long Island City to Montauk , meeting the Main Line at Long Island City and Jamaica . It is electrified from Jamaica east to Babylon ; only diesel trains use the "Lower Montauk" section west of Jamaica or the outer section east of Babylon. Only trains east of Babylon are considered part of the Montauk Branch service; the line from Valley Stream (where the West Hempstead Branch splits) to Babylon carries Babylon Branch trains. The electrified Atlantic Branch runs from Downtown Brooklyn east to Jamaica , where it meets the Main Line, and then heads southeast to end at the Montauk Branch at Valley Stream . The part east of Jamaica is considered part of the Far Rockaway Branch service. The electrified Port Washington Branch - the only one that doesn't serve Jamaica - branches from the Main Line east of Woodside and heads east and northeast to Port Washington . train moves through a Grade Crossing ]] The Port Jefferson Branch branches from the Main Line at Hicksville , with electric service to Huntington and diesel service to Port Jefferson . Until 1938, it continued east to Wading River .Ron Ziel and George H. Foster, Steel Rails to the Sunrise, ©1965 The electrified Hempstead Branch branches from the Main Line at Floral Park and runs east to Hempstead . The Oyster Bay Branch splits from the Main Line at Mineola and heads north and east to Oyster Bay . The first bit to East Williston is electrified; only diesel trains run along the majority of the line to Oyster Bay. The diesel Central Branch runs southeast from the Main Line at Bethpage to the Montauk Branch at Babylon , giving an alternate route to the Montauk Branch east of Babylon. The Central Branch used to continue west from Bethpage to near Garden City , where it used what is now the Hempstead Branch to the Main Line at Floral Park . The electrified Far Rockaway Branch splits from the Atlantic Branch at Valley Stream and runs south and southwest to Far Rockaway . It used to continue west along what is now the New York City Subway 's IND Rockaway Line to Hammels and Rockaway Park . The electrified West Hempstead Branch branches from the Montauk Branch at Valley Stream and runs northeast to West Hempstead , originally continuing to junction the Hempstead Branch and Main Line. The electrified Long Beach Branch splits from the Far Rockaway Branch at Valley Stream but does not curve away until Lynbrook , where it turns south to end at Long Beach . In addition to the , 1926 , page 31 For a time, Pullman Parlor Car s and Sleeping Car s were operated through Penn Station to Montauk from points such as Pittsburgh and Washington . in Bethpage .]] Other eastern Long Island services included the local "''Scoot''", which operated between the two forks ( Greenport on the North Fork to Amagansett on the South Fork ) via the Manorville Branch . It was eliminated in February 1931 due to the effect of the Great Depression and competition from the Automobile . Four non-electrified lines are only used for Freight , now operated by the New York And Atlantic Railway . The Montauk Cutoff Secondary is a short connection from the Main Line at Sunnyside Yard south to the Montauk Branch, separating passenger and freight movements. The Bushwick Lead Track runs west from the Montauk Branch at Maspeth to Bushwick Terminal . The Bay Ridge Branch runs south and west from the Montauk Branch at Fresh Pond to Bay Ridge . At Fresh Pond, it meets CSX Transportation 's Fremont Secondary , which goes over the Hell Gate Bridge towards Upstate New York and New England . The Garden City-Mitchel Field Secondary is a remnant of the Central Branch from Garden City to Mitchel Field . One, of many, criticisms of the LIRR is the fact that the railroad has not improved service to the "east end" of Long Island despite the fact that the twin forks continue to grow in popularity as a year round tourist and year round residential destination. The limited service level has allowed the for profit bus company, The Hampton Jitney to prosper. The Hampton Jitney serves both the South Fork and the North Fork, and a second for profit bus company, The Hampton Luxary Liner operates a service from New York City to points on the South Fork from Southampton to Amagansett. An advocay group, Five Towns Rural Transit, has proposed a new transit agency be set up to run train service on the 2 east end branches. Their website is www.eastendshuttle.org Another criticism is that the On Time Performance (OTP) calculated by the LIRR is meaningless and manipulated to be artificially high. As defined by the LIRR, a train is "on time" if it arrives at a station within 5 minutes and 59 seconds of the scheduled time. Some Commuters groups have been formed to represent commuter interests and their belief is that the OTP has no meaning to what commuters experience on a daily basis. The LIRR publishes the OTP (called 'Monthly Lies' by most commuters) in a monthly booklet called 'Keeping Track.' The number always seems to be 94% to 96% regardless of bad performances. Most commuters experience a 70% - 75% Real OTP, and LIRR executives quielty chuckly to themselves that this is really a more accurate number. Until this is changed to a more meaningful measure it is highly doubtful that the LIRR will gain any credibility with commuters. Their reputation is so bad that even the head of the MTA called the LIRR "The third best railroad at the MTA" - there are only three. FREIGHT SERVICE runs through Brooklyn.]] The LIRR and other railroads that became part of the system have always had freight service, though this has diminished over the years. The process of shedding freight service accelerated with the acquisition of the railroad by New York State . In recent years there has been some appreciation of the need for better railroad freight service in New York City and elsewhere on Long Island . Both areas are primarily served by trucking for freight haulage, an irony in a region with the most extensive rail transit service in the Americas. Proposals for a Cross-Harbor Rail Tunnel for freight have languished more than a century. Freight service is now operated on lease by the , Canadian Pacific , and Providence And Worcester railroads. HISTORY See Also: History of the Long Island Rail Road The Long Island Rail Road was consolidated from a number of railroads during the 19th century. The Pennsylvania Railroad purchased a controlling interest in 1900, as part of a joint plan to provide direct access to Manhattan . Perennial financial distress did not end in the PRR era, and the LIRR was bought by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in 1966. On May 17 2007 , Long Island Rail Road was awarded a Bronze E.H. Harriman Award for its safety record in 2006.3 LAW ENFORCEMENT The former LIRR Police Department, which was founded in 1863, was absorbed along with the Metro-North Railroad Police to form the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police in 1998. SEE ALSO
REFERENCES http://mta.info/mta/ind-perform/month/lirr-otp.htm EXTERNAL LINKS |
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