Elmont, also referred to as Elmont–UBS Arena, is a

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 (state), New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk Co ...

(LIRR) station on the border of Elmont and Bellerose Terrace in Nassau County,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, just east of the

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

. It serves the LIRR

Main Line Mainline, ''Main line'', or ''Main Line'' may refer to: Transportation Railway * Main line (railway), the principal artery of a railway system * Main line railway preservation, the practice of operating preserved trains on an operational railw ...

and is being developed as part of the redevelopment of

Belmont Park Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse racing facility in the northeastern United States, located in Elmont, New York, just east of the New York City limits. It was opened on May 4, 1905. It is operated by the non-profit New York Racin ...

, which includes the new

UBS Arena UBS Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena located at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York directly adjacent to the New York City limits. Opened in 2021, it is the home of the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL), replacing Nassau C ...

for the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

. The station opened for eastbound service in November 2021 and westbound service in October 2022.

History

Plans for the station were first announced in July 2019 by then-New York governor

Andrew Cuomo Andrew Mark Cuomo ( ; ; born December 6, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected to the same position that his father, Mario Cuo ...

. New York Arena Partners, the main party behind the Belmont Park redevelopment, will pay $97 million of the estimated $105 million cost, with the balance being paid by the state. The eastbound platform opened on November 20, 2021. The westbound platform is set to open in late 2022. When completed, it will be the first completely new LIRR station since 1976, when the now-dismantled Southampton Campus station opened. It currently is served by eastbound

Hempstead Branch The Hempstead 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 the Main Line at Queens Interlocking, just east of Queens Village station. It pa ...

trains on event days only; full-time service is expected to begin after the westbound platform is completed in 2022. The project is seen as vital to the Belmont Park redevelopment. Though the Elmont station will serve a portion of Elmont that does not currently have full-time train service, opponents of UBS Arena have claimed that the station plans conceal the real motivation behind building the arena. The LIRR anticipates that the new Elmont station would not be expected to generate new commuter ridership but would instead result in a shift of existing riders living in Bellerose Terrace and Elmont that currently use other stations. With the operation of the Elmont station, existing levels of commuter service would be maintained to other LIRR stations (e.g., Queens Village, Bellerose,

Floral Park Floral Park is an Administrative divisions of New York State#Village, incorporated village in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, New York (state), New York, United States, on Long Island. The population as of the US Census of 2010 is 15,863. ...

) and the addition of the Elmont station would not be anticipated to result in an impact to commuter service. On November 20, 2021, the eastbound platform opened for the Islanders' first game at

that night. While construction of the westbound platform continued, customers were required to use free shuttle buses or walk to UBS Arena or

Belmont Park station Belmont Park is a seasonal-use Long Island Rail Road station on the grounds of the Belmont Park racetrack in the New York City borough of Queens. The station is a terminus of a spur line that lies south of and between the Queens Village and ...

until the westbound platform opened the following year. The westbound platform officially opened on October 6, 2022, for the Islanders–

Devils A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in many and various cultures and religious traditions. Devil or Devils may also refer to: * Satan * Devil in Christianity * Demon * Folk devil Art, entertainment, and media Film an ...

preseason game that night. On February 8, 2023, the LIRR announced that Elmont station would be served by trains from the Ronkonkoma Branch and

Port Jefferson Branch The Port Jefferson Branch is a rail line and service owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The branch splits from the Main Line (Long Island Rail Road), Main Line just east of Hicksville ...

as far as Huntington, with limited service during peak hours and most trains stopping during weekday evening or weekend hours.

Station layout

This station has two 12-car-long

side platform A side platform (also known as a marginal platform or a single-face platform) is a platform positioned to the side of one or more railway tracks or guideways at a railway station, tram stop, or transitway. A station having dual side platforms ...

s, both of which are compliant with the

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 19 ...

. Unlike the

directly to the south, it is able to serve Main Line trains from both the west and east. The station also includes platform canopies, LED signs, benches, USB charging ports, bike racks, and art. Parking is available at an existing 2,860-space parking lot (the UBS Arena's "emerald parking" lot), with 150 free spaces specifically for commuters. Outside the station, an electric

shuttle bus A shuttle bus is a bus that travels a shorter route in comparison to most bus routes. Typically, shuttle buses travel in both directions between two points. Shuttle buses are designed to transport large groups of people who are all travellin ...

service takes passengers to the Belmont Park development. The station is located directly east of (and partially over) the overpass across the

Cross Island Parkway The Cross Island Parkway is a parkway in New York City, part of the Belt System running along the perimeter of the boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn. The Cross Island Parkway runs from the Whitestone Expressway ( Interstate 678 or I-678) i ...

. The location of the station gives platform access on the Bellerose Terrace side via an overpass. The main entrance and dedicated parking for commuters is on the existing Belmont Park property in the northwestern corner of Elmont. Direct road access to the commuter lot is via the Cross Island Parkway entrance and exit to and from the Belmont Park property. There also appears to be parking being built on the more accessible north side of the station, in Bellerose Terrace.

References

{{LIRR stations navbox Long Island Rail Road stations in Nassau County, New York Long Island Rail Road stations in New York City Railway stations in Nassau County, New York Railway stations in Queens, New York Railway stations in the United States opened in 2021