Woodside is a
station on 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 ...
's
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
Port Washington Branch
The Port Washington Branch is an electrified two-track rail line and service owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. It branches north from the Main Line at the former Winfield Junction station, just east ...
in the
Woodside neighborhood of
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 ...
,
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 ...
. It is the first station passed by eastward trains from
Penn Station Pennsylvania Station is a name applied by the Pennsylvania Railroad to several of its grand passenger terminals.
Pennsylvania Station or Penn Station may also refer to
Current train stations
* Baltimore Penn Station
* Pennsylvania Station (Cinci ...
, and it is the only station in Queens shared by the Port Washington Branch and other LIRR branches. East of Woodside the two-track Port Washington Branch turns eastward, while the four-track Main Line continues southeast to
Jamaica station
Jamaica station is a major train station of the Long Island Rail Road located in Jamaica, Queens, New York City. With weekday ridership exceeding 200,000 passengers, it is the largest transit hub on Long Island, the fourth-busiest rail station ...
.
Woodside has six tracks and three platforms. The four southernmost tracks passing through the station are the Main Line tracks; the two center tracks on the Main Line are through (express) tracks and do not have platform faces at Woodside. The two northernmost tracks are the Port Washington branch tracks, both of which have platforms. West of the station, the line merges with Amtrak's
Hell Gate Bridge
The Hell Gate Bridge, originally the New York Connecting Railroad Bridge or the East River Arch Bridge, is a steel through arch railroad bridge in New York City. Originally built for four tracks, the bridge currently carries two tracks of Amtr ...
access tracks (part of the
Northeast Corridor
The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston through Providence, New Haven, Stamford, New York City, Philadelphia, Wilmington, a ...
) at
Harold Interlocking
Harold Interlocking is a large railroad junction located in New York City. It is the busiest rail junction in the United States. It serves trains on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor and the Long Island Rail Road's Main Line and Port Washington Branc ...
before entering the
East River Tunnels
The East River Tunnels are four single-track railroad passenger service tunnels that extend from the eastern end of Pennsylvania Station under 32nd and 33rd Streets in Manhattan and cross the East River to Long Island City in Queens. The tracks ...
to
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
61st Street–Woodside () station is above Woodside station, on a viaduct high above
Roosevelt Avenue
Roosevelt Avenue and Greenpoint Avenue are main thoroughfares in the New York City boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn. Roosevelt Avenue begins at 48th Street and Queens Boulevard in the neighborhood of Sunnyside. West of Queens Boulevard, the roa ...
. The station is
ADA-accessible
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 1964, ...
via elevators and ramps.
For passengers from the Upper East Side of Manhattan, Woodside is not much farther away, with similar taxi fares, and can cut up to a half-hour or more off an LIRR trip by shortening the trip and avoiding Penn Station traffic.
History
![Woodside Station (51835406448)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/Woodside_Station_%2851835406448%29.jpg)
Woodside originally had two railroad stations. One was built in 1861 on 60th Street by the LIRR subsidiary
New York and Jamaica Railroad
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
; the other, larger station was built by the
Flushing and North Side Railroad
The Flushing and North Side Railroad was a former railroad on Long Island built by Conrad Poppenhusen as a replacement for the former New York and Flushing Railroad. The railroad was established in 1868, was merged with the Central Railroad of Long ...
on November 15, 1869, and was the first to be built by the F&NS after acquiring the troubled
New York and Flushing Railroad
The Flushing and North Side Railroad was a former railroad on Long Island built by Conrad Poppenhusen as a replacement for the former New York and Flushing Railroad. The railroad was established in 1868, was merged with the Central Railroad of Long ...
.
For a short period during the 1870s, it served not only the Port Washington Branch but also the
Woodside Branch
The Flushing and North Side Railroad was a former railroad on Long Island built by Conrad Poppenhusen as a replacement for the former New York and Flushing Railroad. The railroad was established in 1868, was merged with the Central Railroad of Lon ...
. The Woodside Branch ran across northwestern Queens, had one station at Junction Boulevard and 35th Avenue, and took commuters either to the former
Whitestone Branch
The Whitestone Branch was a branch of the Long Island Rail Road, running north and east along the left bank of the Flushing River from the Port Washington Branch near the modern Willets Point/Flushing sections of Queens, New York. It crossed the ...
or to what is today
Corona Yard
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 (New York City Subway), A Division yards and 11 active B Division (Ne ...
. Like all other stations on Long Island, it was acquired by the Long Island Railroad in 1876, but in this case the former LIRR-built station was abandoned.
Though the line was electrified on June 16, 1910, the station was closed in 1914 due to a grade elimination project and razed on November 17, 1915. The existing elevated station was opened on October 17, 1915. When
Winfield station was closed in 1929, Woodside became the easternmost station served by both Main Line and Port Washington Branch trains (and thus also a transfer point) before the split at Winfield Junction.
On March 17, 1936, at a hearing of the New York State Transit Commission and the New York State Public Service Commission, the LIRR said that it would seek permission in 1937 to abandon the three stations along the Main Line between Jamaica and Pennsylvania Station—Kew Gardens, Forest Hills, and Woodside. The LIRR had said that it anticipated a loss of annual revenue between $750,000 and $1 million with the opening of the extension of the
Independent Subway System
The Independent Subway System (IND or ISS), formerly known as the Independent City-Owned Subway System (ICOSS) or the Independent City-Owned Rapid Transit Railroad (ICORTR), was a rapid transit rail system in New York City that is now part of th ...
's
Queens Boulevard Line to Jamaica.
The station underwent a renovation and became ADA-accessible in the 1990s.
The renovated station was designed by Urbahn Architects.
In 2006, an 18-year-old woman died after falling into the gap between the platform and train, and subsequently getting hit by an oncoming passenger train.
[
*] The death resulted in the LIRR and
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 ...
implementing an aggressive
platform gap mitigation platform conductor personnel, and "
Watch the gap" programs.
Station layout
This station has three 12-car long high-level platforms. The northern one, a
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 ...
(Platform C) next to Track 1 of the Port Washington Branch, is generally used by westbound or
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 ...
-bound trains. The central one, an
island platform
An island platform (also center platform, centre platform) is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange. Island platforms are popular on ...
(Platform B) between Track 2 of the Port Washington Branch and Track 3 of the Main Line, is generally used by eastbound or outbound Port Washington trains and westbound or
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 ...
-bound Main Line trains. The southern one, a side platform (Platform A) next to Track 4 of the Main Line, is generally used by outbound or eastbound Main Line trains.
There are six tracks. Tracks 1 and 2 of the Main Line, which are not adjacent to any platform, are used by non-stopping trains.
References
External links
*
* Unofficial LIRR History website
*
Woodside Station and IRT Flushing Line view*
Port Washington Branch with Main Line in the background61st Street entrance from Google Maps Street ViewPlatforms from Google Maps Street View
{{LIRR stations navbox
Long Island Rail Road stations in New York City
Railway stations in Queens, New York
Railway stations in the United States opened in 1869
Woodside, Queens
1869 establishments in New York (state)