The Staten Island Railway (SIR) is a
rapid transit
Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be c ...
line in 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 ...
of
Staten Island
Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...
. It is owned by the Staten Island Rapid Transit Operating Authority (SIRTOA), a subsidiary of the
Metropolitan Transportation Authority
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is a public benefit corporation responsible for public transportation in the New York City metropolitan area of the U.S. state of New York. The MTA is the largest public transit authority in th ...
, and operated by the
New York City Transit Authority
The New York City Transit Authority (also known as NYCTA, the TA, or simply Transit, and branded as MTA New York City Transit) is a public-benefit corporation in the U.S. state of New York that operates public transportation in New York City. P ...
Department of Subways. SIR operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, providing local service between
St. George
Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...
and
Tottenville
Tottenville is a neighborhood on the South Shore of Staten Island, New York City. It is the southernmost settlement in both New York City and New York State. Tottenville is bounded on three sides by water: the south side abuts New York Bight w ...
, along the east side of the island. There is currently only one line on the island, and there is no direct rail link between the SIR and the
New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October 2 ...
system, but SIR riders do receive a free
transfer
Transfer may refer to:
Arts and media
* ''Transfer'' (2010 film), a German science-fiction movie directed by Damir Lukacevic and starring Zana Marjanović
* ''Transfer'' (1966 film), a short film
* ''Transfer'' (journal), in management studies
...
to New York City Transit bus and subway lines, and the line is included on official New York City Subway maps. Commuters on the railway typically use the
Staten Island Ferry
The Staten Island Ferry is a passenger ferry route operated by the New York City Department of Transportation. The ferry's single route runs through New York Harbor between the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Staten Island, with ferry ...
to reach
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
; the line is accessible from within the Ferry Terminal, and most of its trains connect with the ferry. In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of .
The line has a route bullet similar to subway routes: the letters ''SIR'' in a blue circle. It is used on timetables, the MTA website, and some signage, but not on trains. Like the New York City Subway, the line runs 24 hours a day every day of the year,
and is one of the few 24/7 mass-transit rail systems in the United States.
Although the railway was originally considered a standard rail line, the existing line is severed from the
national rail system, and only a small portion of the former
North Shore Branch
The North Shore Branch is an abandoned branch of the Staten Island Railway in New York City, which operated along Staten Island's North Shore, Staten Island, North Shore from St. George, Staten Island, Saint George to Port Ivory, Staten Island, ...
still sees freight use. The passenger operations are now regulated as a rapid transit system, and exempt from certain regulations.
The line uses modified
R44 subway cars, which are planned to be replaced by
R211 cars in the early 2020s.
History
19th century
![A Map of the Staten Island Rapid Transit Company from 1885](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/20/A_Map_of_the_Staten_Island_Rapid_Transit_Company_from_1885.png)
The Staten Island Rail Road was incorporated on August 2, 1851, after
Perth Amboy
Perth Amboy is a city in Middlesex County, New Jersey. Perth Amboy is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 55,436. Perth Amboy has a Hispanic majority population. In the 2010 census, th ...
and Staten Island residents petitioned for a
Tottenville
Tottenville is a neighborhood on the South Shore of Staten Island, New York City. It is the southernmost settlement in both New York City and New York State. Tottenville is bounded on three sides by water: the south side abuts New York Bight w ...
-to-
Stapleton rail line. The railroad was financed with a loan from
Cornelius Vanderbilt
Cornelius Vanderbilt (May 27, 1794 – January 4, 1877), nicknamed "the Commodore", was an American business magnate who built his wealth in railroads and shipping. After working with his father's business, Vanderbilt worked his way into lead ...
, the sole Staten Island-to-Manhattan ferry operator on the
East Shore, his first involvement in a railroad.
The line was completed to Tottenville on June 2, 1860.
Under the leadership of Vanderbilt's brother, Jacob H. Vanderbilt, the Staten Island Rail Road took over several independent ferries. The Staten Island Railway and ferry line made a modest profit until the explosion of the ferry ''Westfield'' at Whitehall Street Terminal on July 30, 1871.
By July 1872, the railroad and ferry were in
receivership
In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver—a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights"—especially in ca ...
. On September 17, 1872, the company was sold to
George Law in
foreclosure
Foreclosure is a legal process in which a lender attempts to recover the balance of a loan from a borrower who has stopped making payments to the lender by forcing the sale of the asset used as the collateral for the loan.
Formally, a mortg ...
.
The following April 1, the Staten Island Rail Road was transferred to the Staten Island Railway Company.
By 1880 the railway was barely operational, and New York State sued (through
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general.
In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
Hamilton Ward) to dissolve the company in May of that year.
Erastus Wiman
Erastus Wiman (21 April 1834 – 9 February 1904) was a Canadian journalist and businessman who later moved to the United States. He is best known as a developer in the New York City borough of Staten Island.
Biography
Wiman was born in Churc ...
, one of the island's most prominent residents, organized the Staten Island Rapid Transit Company (SIRT) on March 25, 1880, and partnered with the
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830. Merchants from Baltimore, which had benefited to some extent from the construction of ...
(B&O) to build a large rail terminal on the island and centralize the six-to-eight ferry landings.
He secured an extension on a land-purchase option from George Law by offering to name it "
St. George
Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...
" after him.
![Baltimore & Ohio Viaduct Under Construction Over the Arthur Kill Connecting Staten Island and New Jersey](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/Baltimore_%26_Ohio_Viaduct_Under_Construction_Over_the_Arthur_Kill_Connecting_Staten_Island_and_New_Jersey.png)
Construction of the
Vanderbilt's Landing-to-
Tompkinsville portion of the
North Shore Branch
The North Shore Branch is an abandoned branch of the Staten Island Railway in New York City, which operated along Staten Island's North Shore, Staten Island, North Shore from St. George, Staten Island, Saint George to Port Ivory, Staten Island, ...
began on March 17, 1884,
and the line opened for passenger service on August 1 of that year. The lighthouse just above Tompkinsville impeded the line's extension to St. George but, after the SIRT lobbied for an
act of Congress
An Act of Congress is a statute enacted by the United States Congress. Acts may apply only to individual entities (called Public and private bills, private laws), or to the general public (Public and private bills, public laws). For a Bill (law) ...
, construction of a two-track, tunnel under the lighthouse began in 1885 for about $190,000.
The SIR was leased to the B&O for 99 years in 1885.
Proceeds of the lease were used to complete the terminal at Saint George, pay for two miles of waterfront property, complete the Rapid Transit Railroad, build a bridge over the
Kill Van Kull
__NOTOC__
The Kill Van Kull is a tidal strait between Staten Island, New York and Bayonne, New Jersey in the United States. It is approximately long and wide and connects Newark Bay with Upper New York Bay. The Robbins Reef Light marks the ...
at
Elizabethport
Elizabeth is a City (New Jersey), city and the county seat of Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.[Elm Park
Elm Park is a suburban planned community in East London within the London Borough of Havering. Located east-northeast of Charing Cross, it is identified as a district centre in the London Plan with several streets of shops and a priority for r ...]
.
The Saint George terminal opened on March 7, 1886, and all SIR lines were extended to the station.
The remainder of the North Shore Branch, to its terminus at
Erastina, was opened in the summer of 1886.
On January 1, 1888, the
South Beach Branch
The South Beach Branch, also called the East Shore Sub-Division, is an abandoned branch of the Staten Island Railway in New York City, which operated along Staten Island's East Shore from Clifton to Wentworth Avenue. This double-tracked branch ...
opened for passenger service to
Arrochar.
In 1893, the
South Beach Branch
The South Beach Branch, also called the East Shore Sub-Division, is an abandoned branch of the Staten Island Railway in New York City, which operated along Staten Island's East Shore from Clifton to Wentworth Avenue. This double-tracked branch ...
was extended from
Arrochar to a new terminal at
South Beach
South Beach, also nicknamed colloquially as SoBe, is a neighborhood in Miami Beach, Florida. It is located east of Miami between Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The area encompasses Miami Beach south of Dade Boulevard.
This area was the fi ...
.
The new lines opened by the B&O were known as the Staten Island Rapid Transit Railway, and the original line (from
Clifton
Clifton may refer to:
People
*Clifton (surname)
*Clifton (given name)
Places
Australia
* Clifton, Queensland, a town
**Shire of Clifton
*Clifton, New South Wales, a suburb of Wollongong
*Clifton, Western Australia
Canada
*Clifton, Nova Scotia ...
to Tottenville) was called the Staten Island Railway.
In 1886, Congress passed a law authorizing the construction of a
swing bridge over Arthur Kill, after three years of effort by Wiman.
The bridge was completed three days early, on June 13, 1888, at 3 p.m.
The Arthur Kill Bridge was the world's largest drawbridge when it opened, and there were no fatalities in its construction.
In 1889, construction began on the
Baltimore and New York Railway
The Baltimore and New York Railway was a railroad line built by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) from Cranford, New Jersey, to the western side of the Arthur Kill Bridge in New Jersey, connecting with the North Shore Branch of Staten Island ...
— line from Arthur Kill to the
Jersey Central at Cranford, and was finished later in the year. On January 1, 1890, the first train operated from
St. George Terminal
St. George Terminal is a ferry, railway, bus, and park and ride transit center in the St. George neighborhood of Staten Island, New York City. It is located at the intersection of Richmond Terrace and Bay Street, near Staten Island Borough Ha ...
to
Cranford Junction.
When the Arthur Kill Bridge was completed, the
United States War Department
The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army, a ...
was unsuccessfully pressured by the
Lehigh Valley
The Lehigh Valley (), known colloquially as The Valley, is a geographic region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County and Northampton County in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a component valley of the Great Appalachian Valley bound to the no ...
and
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...
s to have the newly built bridge replaced with a bridge with a different design; according to the railroads, it was an obstruction to navigation of the large numbers of coal barges past Holland Hook on Arthur Kill.
In 1897, the terminal at Saint George (which served the railroad and the ferry to Manhattan) was completed.
20th century
Improvements were made to the SIRT after the
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...
(PRR) took control of the B&O in 1900,
after which the B&O became profitable again.
On October 25, 1905, New York City took ownership of the ferry and terminals and evicted the B&O from the Whitehall Street terminal. The
St. George Terminal
St. George Terminal is a ferry, railway, bus, and park and ride transit center in the St. George neighborhood of Staten Island, New York City. It is located at the intersection of Richmond Terrace and Bay Street, near Staten Island Borough Ha ...
was then built by the city for $2,318,720, .
In anticipation of a
tunnel
A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...
under
the Narrows
__NOTOC__
The Narrows is the tidal strait separating the boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn in New York City, United States. It connects the Upper New York Bay and Lower New York Bay and forms the principal channel by which the Hudson Riv ...
to
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
and a connection there with the
BMT Fourth Avenue Line
The BMT Fourth Avenue Line is a rapid transit line of the New York City Subway, mainly running under Fourth Avenue in Brooklyn. The line is served by the D, N, and R at all times; the R typically runs local, while the D and N run express duri ...
of the New York City Subway, the SIRT electrified its lines with
third rail
A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway t ...
power distribution and cars similar to those of the
Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT).
The first electric train was operated on the
South Beach Branch
The South Beach Branch, also called the East Shore Sub-Division, is an abandoned branch of the Staten Island Railway in New York City, which operated along Staten Island's East Shore from Clifton to Wentworth Avenue. This double-tracked branch ...
between
South Beach
South Beach, also nicknamed colloquially as SoBe, is a neighborhood in Miami Beach, Florida. It is located east of Miami between Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The area encompasses Miami Beach south of Dade Boulevard.
This area was the fi ...
and
Fort Wadsworth
Fort Wadsworth is a former Military of the United States, United States military installation on Staten Island in New York City, situated on The Narrows which divide New York Bay into Upper New York Bay, Upper and Lower New York Bay, Lower halv ...
on May 30, 1925, and the other branches were electrified by November of that year.
Electrification did not greatly increase traffic, and the tunnel was never built.
During the 1920s, a branch line along Staten Island's West Shore was built to haul building materials for the
Outerbridge Crossing
The Outerbridge Crossing, also known as the Outerbridge, is a cantilever bridge that spans the Arthur Kill between Perth Amboy, New Jersey, and Staten Island, New York. It carries New York State Route 440 (NY 440) and New Jersey Rou ...
.
The branch was cut back to a point south of the crossing after the bridge was built. The
Gulf Oil
Gulf Oil was a major global oil company in operation from 1901 to 1985. The eighth-largest American manufacturing company in 1941 and the ninth-largest in 1979, Gulf Oil was one of the so-called Seven Sisters oil companies. Prior to its merger ...
Corporation opened a dock and tank farm along
Arthur Kill
The Arthur Kill (sometimes referred to as the Staten Island Sound) is a tidal strait between Staten Island (also known as Richmond County), New York and Union and Middlesex counties, New Jersey. It is a major navigational channel of the Port of ...
in 1928; to serve it, the
Travis Branch was built south from
Arlington Yard
Arlington Yard is a freight yard located on the North Shore Branch right of way of the Staten Island Railway in Staten Island, New York, United States. It lies west of the former Arlington station, east of Western Avenue, and north of the St ...
into the marshes of the island's western shore to
Gulfport in the early 1930s.
The Port Richmond–Tower Hill viaduct, the nation's largest grade-crossing-elimination project, was completed on February 25, 1937. The viaduct, more than a mile long, spanned eight grade crossings on the SIRT's
North Shore Branch
The North Shore Branch is an abandoned branch of the Staten Island Railway in New York City, which operated along Staten Island's North Shore, Staten Island, North Shore from St. George, Staten Island, Saint George to Port Ivory, Staten Island, ...
and was the final part of a $6 million grade-crossing-elimination project on the island which eliminated thirty-four crossings on its north and south shores.
Freight and
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
traffic helped pay some of the SIRT's accumulated debt, and the line was briefly profitable in the 1940s. All
East Coast
East Coast may refer to:
Entertainment
* East Coast hip hop, a subgenre of hip hop
* East Coast (ASAP Ferg song), "East Coast" (ASAP Ferg song), 2017
* East Coast (Saves the Day song), "East Coast" (Saves the Day song), 2004
* East Coast FM, a ra ...
military-hospital trains were handled by the SIRT during the war, and some trains stopped at Staten Island's
Arlington station to transfer wounded soldiers to a large military hospital. The need to transport war
materiel
Materiel (; ) refers to supplies, equipment, and weapons in military supply-chain management, and typically supplies and equipment in a commercial supply chain context.
In a military context, the term ''materiel'' refers either to the specifi ...
, POW trains and troops made the stretch of the Baltimore & New York Railway between Cranford Junction and Arthur Kill extremely busy.
The B&O also operated special trains for important officials, such as
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
. On June 25, 1946, a fire destroyed the St. George Terminal; three people were killed, twenty-two were injured and damage totaled $22 million.
The fire destroyed the ferry terminal, the four slips used for service to Manhattan and the SIRT terminal. Normal service was not restored until July 13, 1946, and a request for bids to build a temporary terminal was issued on August 21 of that year. On February 10, 1948, a replacement terminal was promised by Mayor
William O'Dwyer
William O'Dwyer (July 11, 1890November 24, 1964) was an Irish-American politician and diplomat who served as the 100th Mayor of New York City, holding that office from 1946 to 1950.
Life and career
O'Dwyer was born in Bohola, County Mayo, Ire ...
. The new $23 million terminal opened on June 8, 1951, with ferry, bus and rail service in one building; portions of the new terminal were phased into service earlier.
![Citizens Mass Meeting in Protest Against Discontinuance of Passenger Service on North Shore and South Beach Rapid Transit Lines March 17, 1953](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Citizens_Mass_Meeting_in_Protest_Against_Discontinuance_of_Passenger_Service_on_North_Shore_and_South_Beach_Rapid_Transit_Lines_March_17%2C_1953.jpg)
Ridership decreased from 12.3 million in 1947 to 4.4 million in 1949 as passengers switched from the rail line to city-operated buses due to a bus-fare reduction. In September 1948, about half of weekday trains were cut, night trains after 1:29 a.m. were cancelled, and thirty percent of the company's employees were
laid off
A layoff or downsizing is the temporary suspension or permanent termination of employment of an employee or, more commonly, a group of employees (collective layoff) for business reasons, such as personnel management or downsizing (reducing the ...
. After backlash, service was slightly increased. On September 22, the
Interstate Commerce Commission
The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was a regulatory agency in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads (and later trucking) to ensure fair rates, to eliminat ...
allowed the SIRT to abandon the ferry it had operated for 88 years between
Tottenville
Tottenville is a neighborhood on the South Shore of Staten Island, New York City. It is the southernmost settlement in both New York City and New York State. Tottenville is bounded on three sides by water: the south side abuts New York Bight w ...
and
Perth Amboy, New Jersey
Perth Amboy is a city (New Jersey), city in Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, New Jersey. Perth Amboy is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 55,4 ...
, and the ferry operation was transferred to Sunrise Ferries of
on October 16. SIRT discontinued passenger service on the North Shore Branch and the South Beach Branch at midnight on March 31, 1953, due to competition from city-operated buses; the South Beach Branch was abandoned shortly afterwards, and the North Shore Branch continued to carry freight.
On September 7, 1954, SIRT applied to discontinue passenger service on the Tottenville Branch on October 7 of that year; a large city subsidy allowed passenger service on the branch to continue.
In 1956, work began on the replacement of the Arthur Kill
swing bridge
A swing bridge (or swing span bridge) is a movable bridge that has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its center of gravity, about which the swing span (turning span) can then pi ...
by a single-track,
vertical-lift bridge
A vertical-lift bridge or just lift bridge is a type of movable bridge in which a span rises vertically while remaining parallel with the deck.
The vertical lift offers several benefits over other movable bridges such as the bascule and swin ...
, which opened in August 1959.
The prefabricated, 2,000-ton bridge was floated into place.
The
new bridge could rise and, since it aided navigation on Arthur Kill, the federal government assumed 90% of the project's $11 million cost. Freight trains started crossing the bridge when it opened on August 25, 1959.
The
Travis Branch was extended in 1958 to a new
Consolidated Edison
Consolidated Edison, Inc., commonly known as Con Edison (stylized as conEdison) or ConEd, is one of the largest investor-owned energy companies in the United States, with approximately $12 billion in annual revenues as of 2017, and over $62 b ...
power plant in Travis (on the West Shore), allowing coal trains from
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...
to serve the plant.
Operation of the Tottenville line was turned over to the Staten Island Rapid Transit Operating Authority (a division of the state's
Metropolitan Transportation Authority
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is a public benefit corporation responsible for public transportation in the New York City metropolitan area of the U.S. state of New York. The MTA is the largest public transit authority in th ...
) on July 1, 1971, and the line was purchased by the city of New York. As part of the agreement, freight on the line would continue to be handled by the B&O under the Staten Island Railroad.
The first six
R44 cars (the same as the newest cars then in use on the subway lines in the other boroughs) were put into SIRT service on February 28, 1973, replacing the
ME-1 cars which had been in service since 1925.
Between 1971 and 1973, a project began to extend the high-level platforms at six stations.
A station-rebuilding program began in 1985, and the line's R44s were overhauled starting in 1987.
The B&O became part of the larger C&O system in a merger with the
Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis P. Huntington, it reached from Virginia's capital city of Richmond t ...
, and the island's freight operation was renamed the Staten Island Railroad Corporation in 1971.
The B&O and C&O became isolated from their other properties in New Jersey and Staten Island with the creation of
Conrail
Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busin ...
on April 1, 1976, in a merger of bankrupt lines in the northeastern U.S. Their freight service now terminated in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, but for several years afterward B&O locomotives and one B&O freight train a day ran to
Cranford Junction.
In 1973, the
Jersey Central's car float
A railroad car float or rail barge is a specialised form of lighter with railway tracks mounted on its deck used to move rolling stock across water obstacles, or to locations they could not otherwise go. An unpowered barge, it is towed by a tugb ...
yard was closed; however, the B&O's car-float operation was later brought back to Staten Island at Saint George Yard, after having ended in September 1976. This car-float operation was taken over by the New York Dock Railway in September 1979, and ended the following year.
Only a few isolated industries on Staten Island used rail freight, and the yard at Saint George was essentially abandoned.
The C&O system sold the Staten Island Railroad to the
New York, Susquehanna & Western Railroad
The New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway (or New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad and also known as the Susie-Q or the Susquehanna) is a Class II American freight
Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or la ...
, owned by the
Delaware Otsego Corporation
The Delaware Otsego Corporation (DO) is an American railway holding company which owns the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway and the Central New York Railroad. It is headquartered in Cooperstown, New York in Otsego County.
The compan ...
, in April 1985 due to a lack of business.
The Susquehanna then embargoed the track east of
Elm Park
Elm Park is a suburban planned community in East London within the London Borough of Havering. Located east-northeast of Charing Cross, it is identified as a district centre in the London Plan with several streets of shops and a priority for r ...
on the
North Shore Branch
The North Shore Branch is an abandoned branch of the Staten Island Railway in New York City, which operated along Staten Island's North Shore, Staten Island, North Shore from St. George, Staten Island, Saint George to Port Ivory, Staten Island, ...
, ending rail freight to Saint George.
Procter & Gamble
The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer hea ...
(the line's largest customer) closed in 1990, leading to a large drop in freight traffic. The last freight train crossed the bridge in 1990 and the operation ended on July 25, 1991, when the Arthur Kill Bridge was taken out of service. The North Shore Branch and the Arthur Kill Bridge were then taken over by
CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...
(CSX). The line and bridge were purchased in 1994 by the
New York City Economic Development Corporation
New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) is a nonprofit corporation whose stated mission is to "leverage the city’s assets to create beneficial jobs that drive growth. This ensures equitable and sustainable development across al ...
(NYCEDC), followed by a decade of false starts.
SIRT was transferred from the New York City Transit Authority's Surface Transit Division to its Department of Rapid Transit on July 26, 1993, and that year the
Dongan Hills station became accessible, making it 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 ...
.
MetroCard
The MetroCard is a magnetic stripe card used for fare payment on transportation in the New York City area. It is the primary payment method for the New York City Subway (including the Staten Island Railway), New York City Transit buses and MTA ...
s were accepted for fare payment at the St. George station beginning on March 31, 1994, and the station became the 50th MTA rapid transit station to accept them. The
Metropolitan Transportation Authority
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is a public benefit corporation responsible for public transportation in the New York City metropolitan area of the U.S. state of New York. The MTA is the largest public transit authority in th ...
(MTA) restored the line's original name on April 2 of that year as the MTA Staten Island Railway (SIR).
On July 4, 1997, the MTA eliminated fares for travel between
Tompkinsville and
Tottenville
Tottenville is a neighborhood on the South Shore of Staten Island, New York City. It is the southernmost settlement in both New York City and New York State. Tottenville is bounded on three sides by water: the south side abuts New York Bight w ...
as part of the year's "One City, One Fare" fare reductions. United Transportation Union Local 1440, the union representing SIR employees, was concerned about the fare reduction in part because of an expected increase in ridership. No turnstiles were installed at the other stations on the line, and passengers at St. George began paying when entering and exiting; fares had previously been collected on board by the conductor. The removal of fares was blamed for an immediate spike in crime along the line. Three afternoon express trains were added to the schedule on April 7, 1999, nearly doubling the previous express service. The express trains skipped stops between St. George and Great Kills. A several-hundred-foot section of the easternmost portion of the North Shore Branch was reopened for passenger service to the
Richmond County Bank Ballpark
The Staten Island University Hospital, Community Park (SIUH Community Park) is a baseball stadium located on the north-eastern tip of Staten Island. The ballpark is the home of the Staten Island FerryHawks, a member of the Atlantic League of P ...
, home of the
Staten Island Yankees
The Staten Island Yankees were a minor league baseball team located in the New York City borough of Staten Island from 1999 to 2020. Nicknamed the "Baby Bombers", the Yankees were the Class A Short Season affiliate of the New York Yankees and pla ...
minor-league baseball team, on June 24, 2001; the service was discontinued on June 18, 2010. A new station building at
Tompkinsville opened on January 20, 2010, with
turnstile
A turnstile (also called a turnpike, gateline, baffle gate, automated gate, turn gate in some regions) is a form of gate which allows one person to pass at a time. A turnstile can be configured to enforce one-way human traffic. In addition, a t ...
s installed to prevent passengers from exiting (free of charge) at Tompkinsville and walking the short distance to the St. George ferry terminal.
Current use
Passenger service
![MTA Staten Island Railway local train at Oakwood Heights](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/MTA_Staten_Island_Railway_local_train_at_Oakwood_Heights.jpg)
Although the Staten Island Railway originally consisted of three lines, only the north-south Main Line is in passenger service. It has been
grade-separated
In civil engineering (more specifically highway engineering), grade separation is a method of aligning a junction of two or more surface transport axes at different heights (grades) so that they will not disrupt the traffic flow on other tran ...
from all roads since the 1960s, but runs more or less at street level for a brief stretch north of Clifton, between the
Grasmere and
Old Town
In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins after thorough renovations. There are ma ...
stations, and from south of the
Pleasant Plains station to Tottenville—the end of the line. The terminus at St. George provides a direct connection with the
Staten Island Ferry
The Staten Island Ferry is a passenger ferry route operated by the New York City Department of Transportation. The ferry's single route runs through New York Harbor between the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Staten Island, with ferry ...
.
St. George has twelve tracks, ten of which are in service.
Tottenville
Tottenville is a neighborhood on the South Shore of Staten Island, New York City. It is the southernmost settlement in both New York City and New York State. Tottenville is bounded on three sides by water: the south side abuts New York Bight w ...
has a three-track yard to the east of the station, which itself has two tracks and an island platform.
Rolling stock consists of modified
R44 subway-type cars built in early 1973,
added to the end of the R44 order of subway cars for New York City Transit; they were the last cars built by the
St. Louis Car Company
The St. Louis Car Company was a major United States manufacturer of railroad passenger cars, streetcars, interurbans, trolleybuses and locomotives that existed from 1887 to 1974, based in St. Louis, Missouri.
History
The St. Louis Car Company ...
. Heavy maintenance is performed at NYCT's Clifton Shops, and any work unable to be done at Clifton requires the cars to be trucked over the
Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge
The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge ( ) is a suspension bridge connecting the New York City boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn. It spans the Narrows, a body of water linking the relatively enclosed New York Harbor with Lower New York Bay and th ...
to the subway's
Coney Island Complex
The New York City Transit Authority operates a total of 24 rail yards for the New York City Subway system, and one for the Staten Island Railway. There are 10 active A Division yards and 11 active B Division yards, two of which are shared betwee ...
in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
. The
right-of-way
Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another.
A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...
includes elevated, embankment and open-cut sections, as well as a tunnel near St. George.
Before 2007, the Staten Island Railway used Baltimore & Ohio Railroad-style
color position light signals dating back to its B&O days. That year, a $72-million project to replace the old signal system was completed. The system was replaced with an FRA-compliant 100 Hz, track-circuit-based automatic train control (ATC) signal system. As part of the project, forty
R44 subway cars and four locomotives were modified with onboard cab signaling equipment for ATC bi-directional movement. A new rail control center and backup control center were built as part of the project.
The line uses
NYC Transit-standard 600 V DC third-rail power.
![Conductor 5-Car at Grant City](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/Conductor_5-Car_at_Grant_City.jpg)
Sally Librera has been the railway's vice-president and chief officer since her appointment in May 2017. The workforce, about 200
hourly employees, is represented by
United Transportation Union
The United Transportation Union (UTU) was a broad-based, transportation labor union that represented about 70,000 active and retired railroad, bus, mass transit, and airline workers in the United States. The UTU was headquartered in Cleveland, Oh ...
Local 1440.
Accessibility
Only the
Dongan Hills,
St. George
Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...
,
Great Kills
Great Kills is a neighborhood within the borough of Staten Island in New York City. It is located on the island's South Shore, and according to many local geographers, it is the South Shore's northernmost community. It is bordered by Richmondtow ...
, and
Tottenville
Tottenville is a neighborhood on the South Shore of Staten Island, New York City. It is the southernmost settlement in both New York City and New York State. Tottenville is bounded on three sides by water: the south side abuts New York Bight w ...
stations have been renovated to comply 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 ...
; these stations have elevators and/or ramps.
In late 2019, as part of the MTA's 2020–2024 capital plan, three stations are planned to be renovated to become ADA-accessible. These stations are Huguenot, New Dorp, and Clifton.
The
Prince's Bay,
Huguenot
The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...
,
Annadale, Great Kills, Dongan Hills, and Arthur Kill stations have
park-and-ride
A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, rail system (rapi ...
facilities.
The newest station on the Staten Island Railway,
Arthur Kill
The Arthur Kill (sometimes referred to as the Staten Island Sound) is a tidal strait between Staten Island (also known as Richmond County), New York and Union and Middlesex counties, New Jersey. It is a major navigational channel of the Port of ...
, opened on January 21, 2017, and is ADA-compliant. The station is between (and has replaced) the now-demolished
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
and
Nassau
Nassau may refer to:
Places Bahamas
*Nassau, Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas, on the island of New Providence
Canada
*Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upper Canada from 1788 to 1792
*Nassau Street (Winnipeg), ...
stations, which were in the poorest condition of all the stations on the line.
Police
On June 1, 2005, the Staten Island Rapid Transit Police Department was disbanded and its 25 railroad police officers became part of the
Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police Department
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police Department (MTAPD) is the police agency of New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Officers of the MTAPD are fully empowered under the New York State Public Authorities Law and are com ...
. The MTA Police Department was created in 1998 with the merger of the
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 ...
Police Department and the
Metro-North Railroad
Metro-North Railroad , trading as MTA Metro-North Railroad, is a suburban commuter rail service run by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a New York State public benefit corporations, public authority of the U.S. state of New Yor ...
Police Department. The MTA Police Department then opened its newest patrol district, Police District #9, which began covering the Staten Island Railway.
Fare
The cash fare is $2.75, the same fare as the New York City Subway and
MTA buses. Fares are paid on entry and exit only at
St. George
Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...
and
Tompkinsville. Rides not originating or terminating at St. George or Tompkinsville are free. Fares are payable by
MetroCard
The MetroCard is a magnetic stripe card used for fare payment on transportation in the New York City area. It is the primary payment method for the New York City Subway (including the Staten Island Railway), New York City Transit buses and MTA ...
or
OMNY
OMNY ( , short for One Metro New York) is a contactless fare payment system, currently being implemented for use on public transit in the New York metropolitan area. When OMNY is completely rolled out, it will replace the MetroCard on the Ne ...
. Since the card enables free transfers for a continuous ride on the subway and bus systems, for many riders there is effectively no fare for riding the SIR. Riders can also transfer between a Staten Island bus, the SIR and a Manhattan bus (or subway) near
South Ferry.
Because of this, the SIR's 2001
farebox recovery ratio
The farebox recovery ratio (also called fare recovery ratio, fare recovery rate or other terms) of a passenger transportation system is the fraction of operating expenses which are met by the fares paid by passengers. It is computed by dividing t ...
was 0.16; for every dollar of expense, 16 cents was recovered in fares (the lowest ratio of MTA agencies). The low farebox recovery ratio is part of the reason the MTA sought to merge the SIR with the subway to form MTA Subways in October 2002: to simplify accounting and subsidy of a single line.
Before the 1997 introduction of the one-fare zone,
with the MetroCard's free transfers from the SIR to the subway system and MTA buses, fares were collected from passengers boarding at stops other than St. George by onboard conductors.
In the past, passengers had avoided paying the fare by exiting at Tompkinsville and walking a short distance to the St. George Ferry Terminal. As a result, the MTA installed
turnstile
A turnstile (also called a turnpike, gateline, baffle gate, automated gate, turn gate in some regions) is a form of gate which allows one person to pass at a time. A turnstile can be configured to enforce one-way human traffic. In addition, a t ...
s at Tompkinsville and a new station building, which opened on January 20, 2010.
On October 23, 2017, it was announced that the MetroCard would be phased out and replaced by
OMNY
OMNY ( , short for One Metro New York) is a contactless fare payment system, currently being implemented for use on public transit in the New York metropolitan area. When OMNY is completely rolled out, it will replace the MetroCard on the Ne ...
, a
contactless fare payment system also by Cubic, with fare payment being made using
Apple Pay
Apple Pay is a mobile payment service by Apple Inc. that allows users to make payments in person, in iOS apps, and on the web. It is supported on these Apple devices: iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad, and Mac. It digitizes and can replace a credit ...
,
Google Pay, debit/credit cards with
near-field communication
Near-field communication (NFC) is a set of communication protocols that enables communication between two electronic devices over a distance of 4 cm (1 in) or less. NFC offers a low-speed connection through a simple setup that can be u ...
technology, or
radio-frequency identification
Radio-frequency identification (RFID) uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects. An RFID system consists of a tiny radio transponder, a radio receiver and transmitter. When triggered by an electromag ...
cards.
The St. George and Tompkinsville stations, the only two Staten Island Railway stations with turnstiles, received OMNY readers in December 2019.
Support of the MetroCard is slated to remain until 2023.
Freight service
During the early 2000s, plans to reopen the Staten Island Rapid Transit line in New Jersey were announced by the
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, PANYNJ; stylized, in logo since 2020, as Port Authority NY NJ, is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate compact authorized ...
(PANYNJ). Since the
Central Railroad of New Jersey
The Central Railroad of New Jersey, also known as the Jersey Central or Jersey Central Lines , was a Class I railroad with origins in the 1830s. It was absorbed into Conrail in April 1976 along with several other prominent bankrupt railroads of ...
became a
New Jersey Transit
New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bu ...
line, a new junction would be built to the former
Lehigh Valley Railroad
The Lehigh Valley Railroad was a railroad built in the Northeastern United States to haul anthracite coal from the Coal Region in Pennsylvania. The railroad was authorized on April 21, 1846 for freight and transportation of passengers, goods, w ...
. So all New England and southern freight could pass through the New York metropolitan area, two rail tunnels from Brooklyn (one to Staten Island and the other to
Greenville, New Jersey
Greenville is the southernmost section of Jersey City in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States.
Geography
In its broadest definition, Greenville encompasses the area south of the West Side Branch of Hudson-Bergen Light Rail and north of th ...
) were planned.
On December 15, 2004, a $72 million project to reactivate freight service on Staten Island and repair the
Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge
The Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Railroad Bridge is a rail vertical-lift bridge connecting Elizabethport, New Jersey and the Howland Hook Marine Terminal on Staten Island, New York, United States. The bridge was built by the Baltimore and Ohio Rai ...
was announced by the NYCEDC and the PANYNJ. Projects on the Arthur Kill Bridge included repainting the steel superstructure and rehabilitating its lift mechanism. In 2006, the freight line connection reopened from New Jersey to the Staten Island Railroad, including the Arthur Kill Bridge. Regular service began on April 2, 2007 (16 years after it had closed) to ship container freight from the
Howland Hook Marine Terminal
The Howland Hook Marine Terminal, operating as ‘’’GCT New York,’’’ is a container port facility in the Port of New York and New Jersey located at Howland Hook in northwestern Staten Island, New York City. It is situated on the east ...
and other industrial businesses. The service at the marine terminal is part of the PANYNJ's
ExpressRail
ExpressRail is a network of on- or near-dock rail yards supporting intermodal freight transport at the major container terminals of the Port of New York and New Jersey. The development of dockside trackage and rail yards for transloading has bee ...
system completed with of the single-track
Chemical Coast connector. Service is provided by and
Conrail Shared Assets Operations
Conrail Shared Assets Operations (CSAO) is the commonly used name for modern-day Conrail (reporting mark CRCX), an American railroad company. It operates three networks, the North Jersey, South Jersey/Philadelphia, and Detroit Shared Assets Area ...
(CRCX) for its co-owners,
CSX
CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...
,
Norfolk Southern Railway
The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31 ...
.
As part of the project, a portion of the North Shore Branch was rehabilitated, the
Arlington Yard
Arlington Yard is a freight yard located on the North Shore Branch right of way of the Staten Island Railway in Staten Island, New York, United States. It lies west of the former Arlington station, east of Western Avenue, and north of the St ...
was expanded, and of new track was laid along the
Travis Branch to
Staten Island Transfer Station at Fresh Kills.
Soon after service restarted on the line, Mayor
Michael Bloomberg
Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman, politician, philanthropist, and author. He is the majority owner, co-founder and CEO of Bloomberg L.P. He was Mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013, and was a ca ...
officially commemorated the reactivation on April 17, 2007.
As of 2019, the New York City Department of Sanitation's contractor was moving containers of municipal solid waste by barge from Queens and Manhattan to the Howland Hook Marine Terminal for transfer to rail there.
Along the remainder of the North Shore Branch, there are still tracks and rail overpasses in some places.
Future plans
Elected officials on Staten Island, including State Senator
Diane Savino
Diane J. Savino (born September 28, 1963) is an American Democratic politician who represented the 23rd Senate District in the New York State Senate, in northern Staten Island and parts of southern Brooklyn, including Sunset Park, Bay Ridge, ...
, have demanded the replacement of the railway's aging R44 cars.
Although the Metropolitan Transportation Authority initially planned to order
R179s for the Staten Island Railway, it was later decided to overhaul
R46s to replace the R44s. However, the R46 overhaul plan was also dropped, and 75
R211S cars will replace the R44s.
In the meantime, the R44s are receiving intermittent rounds of scheduled maintenance to extend their usefulness until at least 2022–2023.
There has been discussion of building an
in-fill station
An infill station (sometimes in-fill station) is
a train station built on an existing passenger rail, rapid transit, or light rail line to address demand in a location between existing stations. Such stations take advantage of existing train serv ...
in the Rosebank neighborhood, which would bridge the longest gap between two stations (
Grasmere and
Clifton
Clifton may refer to:
People
*Clifton (surname)
*Clifton (given name)
Places
Australia
* Clifton, Queensland, a town
**Shire of Clifton
*Clifton, New South Wales, a suburb of Wollongong
*Clifton, Western Australia
Canada
*Clifton, Nova Scotia ...
). The area was once home to the
Rosebank station on the railway's now-defunct South Beach Branch, which was located east of the proposed station site.
Several proposals have been made to connect the SIR to the subway system, including the abandoned, unfinished
Staten Island Tunnel
The Staten Island Tunnel is an abandoned, incomplete railway/ subway tunnel in New York City. It was intended to connect railways on Staten Island (precursors to the modern-day Staten Island Railway) to the BMT Fourth Avenue Line of the New Yor ...
and a line along the
Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge
The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge ( ) is a suspension bridge connecting the New York City boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn. It spans the Narrows, a body of water linking the relatively enclosed New York Harbor with Lower New York Bay and th ...
using
B Division B Division, Division B, or variant may refer to:
* ''B Division'' (New York City Subway)
* ''B Division'' (Irish League), association football
* ''Division B'' (Scottish Football League)
* ''Divizia B'' (Romanian Football League)
* Moldovan "B ...
cars and
loading gauge
A loading gauge is a diagram or physical structure that defines the maximum height and width dimensions in railway vehicles and their loads. Their purpose is to ensure that rail vehicles can pass safely through tunnels and under bridges, and ke ...
, but economic, political and engineering difficulties have prevented these projects from realization.
Possible branch restoration
In a 2006 report, the ''
Staten Island Advance
The ''Staten Island Advance'' is a daily newspaper published in the borough of Staten Island in New York City. The only daily newspaper published in the borough, and the only major daily paper focused on a borough, it covers news of local and ...
'' explored the restoration of passenger service on of the
North Shore Branch
The North Shore Branch is an abandoned branch of the Staten Island Railway in New York City, which operated along Staten Island's North Shore, Staten Island, North Shore from St. George, Staten Island, Saint George to Port Ivory, Staten Island, ...
between St. George and
Arlington. Completion of a study is necessary to qualify the project for an estimated $360 million. A preliminary study found that ridership could reach 15,000 daily.
U.S. Senator
Chuck Schumer
Charles Ellis Schumer ( ; born November 23, 1950) is an American politician serving as Senate Majority Leader since January 20, 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Schumer is in his fourth Senate term, having held his seat since 1999, and ...
of New York requested $4 million of federal funding for a detailed feasibility study. In 2012, the MTA released an analysis of North Shore transportation solutions which included proposals for the reintroduction of heavy rail,
light rail or
bus rapid transit
Bus rapid transit (BRT), also called a busway or transitway, is a bus-based public transport system designed to have much more capacity, reliability and other quality features than a conventional bus system. Typically, a BRT system includes ...
using the North Shore line's right-of-way. Other options included
system management
Systems management refers to enterprise-wide administration of distributed systems including (and commonly in practice) computer systems. Systems management is strongly influenced by network management initiatives in telecommunications. The ap ...
, which would improve existing bus service, and the possibility of future ferry and
water taxi
A water taxi or a water bus is a watercraft used to provide public or private transport, usually, but not always, in an urban environment. Service may be scheduled with multiple stops, operating in a similar manner to a bus, or o ...
service. Bus rapid transit was preferred for its cost ($352 million in capital investment) and relative ease of implementation. In January 2018, the project had yet to receive funding.
As part of the 2015–2019 MTA Capital Program, $4 million was allocated for an analysis of a
Staten Island light rail
Staten Island light rail proposals refer to two projects in the New York City borough of Staten Island. These proposals are among the several light rail projects that have been floated in New York City in recent years. Neither proposal was funded ...
.
Branches and stations
Main Line stations
: Some local trains start at Huguenot during morning rush hours.
Former stations
North Shore Branch
The North Shore Branch closed to passenger service at midnight on March 31, 1953.
A small portion of the western end is used for freight service as part of the
ExpressRail
ExpressRail is a network of on- or near-dock rail yards supporting intermodal freight transport at the major container terminals of the Port of New York and New Jersey. The development of dockside trackage and rail yards for transloading has bee ...
intermodal network at the
Howland Hook Marine Terminal
The Howland Hook Marine Terminal, operating as ‘’’GCT New York,’’’ is a container port facility in the Port of New York and New Jersey located at Howland Hook in northwestern Staten Island, New York City. It is situated on the east ...
. The network, which opened in 2007, connects to the
Chemical Coast after crossing the
Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge
The Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Railroad Bridge is a rail vertical-lift bridge connecting Elizabethport, New Jersey and the Howland Hook Marine Terminal on Staten Island, New York, United States. The bridge was built by the Baltimore and Ohio Rai ...
.
The North Shore Branch served
Procter & Gamble
The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer hea ...
,
United States Gypsum
USG Corporation, also known as United States Gypsum Corporation, is an American company which manufactures construction materials, most notably drywall and joint compound. The company is the largest distributor of wallboard in the United States ...
, shipbuilders and a
car float
A railroad car float or rail barge is a specialised form of lighter with railway tracks mounted on its deck used to move rolling stock across water obstacles, or to locations they could not otherwise go. An unpowered barge, it is towed by a tugb ...
at Saint George Yard.
A smaller eastern portion, which provided seasonal passenger service to the
Richmond County Bank Ballpark station
Richmond County Bank Ballpark, styled simply as BallPark on station signage, is an abandoned station on the Staten Island Railway, located at Wall Street and Richmond Terrace.
History
The station was opened on June 24, 2001 in conjunction with ...
(where the
Staten Island Yankees
The Staten Island Yankees were a minor league baseball team located in the New York City borough of Staten Island from 1999 to 2020. Nicknamed the "Baby Bombers", the Yankees were the Class A Short Season affiliate of the New York Yankees and pla ...
played), operated from June 24, 2001, to June 18, 2010.
In 2008, restoration was discussed along the mostly abandoned line as part of the island's light-rail plan.
An
environmental impact assessment
Environmental Impact assessment (EIA) is the assessment of the environmental consequences of a plan, policy, program, or actual projects prior to the decision to move forward with the proposed action. In this context, the term "environmental imp ...
is being worked on for the implementation of a bus rapid transit line on the North Shore Branch.
South Beach Branch
The South Beach Branch opened on January 1, 1888, to
Arrochar,
and was extended to
South Beach
South Beach, also nicknamed colloquially as SoBe, is a neighborhood in Miami Beach, Florida. It is located east of Miami between Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The area encompasses Miami Beach south of Dade Boulevard.
This area was the fi ...
in 1893.
The branch closed at midnight on March 31, 1953.
It was abandoned and demolished, except for a few segments: a concrete embankment at Clayton Street and Saint John's Avenue, the Tompkins Avenue overpass,
trestle
ATLAS-I (Air Force Weapons Lab Transmission-Line Aircraft Simulator), better known as Trestle, was a unique electromagnetic pulse (EMP) generation and testing apparatus built between 1972 and 1980 during the Cold War at Sandia National Laborato ...
over Robin Road in
Arrochar and a filled-in bridge under McClean Avenue. This line left the Main Line at (south of the Clifton station), and was east of the Main Line. Although the right-of-way has been redeveloped, most of it is still traceable on maps; Lily Pond Avenue is built over the right of way where it passes under the Staten Island Expressway.
The Robin Road trestle is the only remaining intact trestle along the former line. Developers purchased the land on either side of its
abutment
An abutment is the substructure at the ends of a bridge span or dam supporting its superstructure. Single-span bridges have abutments at each end which provide vertical and lateral support for the span, as well as acting as retaining walls ...
s during the early 2000s, and the developers, the
New York City Department of Transportation
The New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) is the agency of the government of New York City responsible for the management of much of New York City's transportation infrastructure. Ydanis Rodriguez is the Commissioner of the Departm ...
, and the
New York City Transit Authority
The New York City Transit Authority (also known as NYCTA, the TA, or simply Transit, and branded as MTA New York City Transit) is a public-benefit corporation in the U.S. state of New York that operates public transportation in New York City. P ...
all claimed ownership.
Townhouses
A townhouse, townhome, town house, or town home, is a type of terraced housing. A modern townhouse is often one with a small footprint on multiple floors. In a different British usage, the term originally referred to any type of city residence ...
have been built on both sides of the trestle.
Freight lines
Mount Loretto Spur
The
Mount Loretto Spur
The Mount Loretto Spur is an abandoned branch of the Staten Island Railway whose purpose was to serve the Mount Loretto Children's Home. The spur diverged off of the Main Line south of Pleasant Plains.
Description
The Mount Loretto Spur dive ...
is an abandoned branch whose purpose was to serve the
Mount Loretto Children's Home. The spur diverged from the Main Line south of
Pleasant Plains.
The B&O Railroad served the non-electrified branch, which had some industry and a passenger station, until 1950. Although its track was removed during the 1960s and 1970s, some
ties TIES may refer to:
* TIES, Teacher Institute for Evolutionary Science
* TIES, The Interactive Encyclopedia System
* TIES, Time Independent Escape Sequence
* Theoretical Issues in Ergonomics Science
The ''Theoretical Issues in Ergonomics Science' ...
were visible until the 1980s. A
coal trestle is all that remains of the branch.
West Shore Line
South of the
Richmond Valley station
The Richmond Valley station is a Staten Island Railway station in the neighborhood of Richmond Valley, Staten Island, New York. Located at Richmond Valley Road and Amboy Road on the main line, the station is a mixture of open cut (below grade l ...
, a non-electrified spur, branched off the
Tottenville
Tottenville is a neighborhood on the South Shore of Staten Island, New York City. It is the southernmost settlement in both New York City and New York State. Tottenville is bounded on three sides by water: the south side abuts New York Bight w ...
-bound track. The spur, built in 1928, was called the West Shore Line by the B&O Railroad and delivered building materials to the
Outerbridge Crossing
The Outerbridge Crossing, also known as the Outerbridge, is a cantilever bridge that spans the Arthur Kill between Perth Amboy, New Jersey, and Staten Island, New York. It carries New York State Route 440 (NY 440) and New Jersey Rou ...
construction site near Arthur Kill. Years later, the track was used to serve a scrapyard owned by the Roselli Brothers.
This siding went out of service on June 14, 2011. The track divided in two under Page Avenue, with the rails still in place.
The line's right-of-way, an
easement
An easement is a nonpossessory right to use and/or enter onto the real property of another without possessing it. It is "best typified in the right of way which one landowner, A, may enjoy over the land of another, B". An easement is a propert ...
on property owned by Nassau Metals, was later used by CSX.
Although sections of the old tracks have been removed, others remain in the overgrowth.
Travis Branch
The
Travis Branch, from
Arlington Yard
Arlington Yard is a freight yard located on the North Shore Branch right of way of the Staten Island Railway in Staten Island, New York, United States. It lies west of the former Arlington station, east of Western Avenue, and north of the St ...
to
Fresh Kills
Fresh Kills (from the Middle Dutch word '' kille'', meaning "riverbed" or "water channel") is a stream and freshwater estuary in the western portion of the New York City borough of Staten Island. It is the site of the Fresh Kills Landfill, forme ...
, runs along the island's
West Shore. The branch was built in 1928 to serve
Gulf Oil
Gulf Oil was a major global oil company in operation from 1901 to 1985. The eighth-largest American manufacturing company in 1941 and the ninth-largest in 1979, Gulf Oil was one of the so-called Seven Sisters oil companies. Prior to its merger ...
along the
Arthur Kill
The Arthur Kill (sometimes referred to as the Staten Island Sound) is a tidal strait between Staten Island (also known as Richmond County), New York and Union and Middlesex counties, New Jersey. It is a major navigational channel of the Port of ...
, south from
Arlington Yard
Arlington Yard is a freight yard located on the North Shore Branch right of way of the Staten Island Railway in Staten Island, New York, United States. It lies west of the former Arlington station, east of Western Avenue, and north of the St ...
into the marshes to Gulfport.
It was extended to Travis to serve the new
Consolidated Edison
Consolidated Edison, Inc., commonly known as Con Edison (stylized as conEdison) or ConEd, is one of the largest investor-owned energy companies in the United States, with approximately $12 billion in annual revenues as of 2017, and over $62 b ...
power plant in 1957.
In 2005, the branch was renovated and extended from the old Con Edison plant to the
Staten Island Transfer Station at Fresh Kills; regular service to the
transfer station began in April 2007.
[ on December 23, 2007.]
See also
*
Cross-Harbor Rail Tunnel
The Cross-Harbor Rail Tunnel (also known as the Cross Harbor Rail Freight Tunnel) is a proposed freight rail transport tunnel under Upper New York Bay in the Port of New York and New Jersey between northeastern New Jersey and Long Island, inclu ...
Notes
References
External links
*
*
SIRT artifacts in the Staten Island Historical Society Online Collections Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Staten Island Railway
Companies affiliated with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
Companies based in Staten Island
CSX Transportation
Defunct New York (state) railroads
Metropolitan Transportation Authority
">Railway companies established in 1873
Standard gauge railways in the United States
1899 establishments in New York City
600 V DC railway electrification
Rapid transit in New York (state)