TheWoodside stationis astationon theMain LineandPort Washington Branchof theLong Island Rail Road(LIRR), located in theWoodsideneighborhood ofQueensinNew York City.It is the first station passed by eastward trains fromPenn StationandGrand Central Madison,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 toJamaica 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'sHell Gate Bridgeaccess tracks (part of theNortheast Corridor) atHarold Interlockingbefore entering theEast River Tunnelsor63rd Street TunneltoManhattan.The61st Street–Woodsidestation of theIRT Flushing Line(served by the7and<7> trains) is above Woodside station, on a viaduct high aboveRoosevelt Avenue.At street level, theQ70 SBSbus provides limited-stop service toLaGuardia Airport.The station isADA-accessiblevia elevators and ramps.
History
edit
Woodside originally had two railroad stations. One was built in 1861 on 60th Street by the LIRR subsidiaryNew York and Jamaica Railroad;the other, larger station was built by theFlushing and North Side Railroadon November 15, 1869, and was the first to be built by the F&NS after acquiring the troubledNew York and Flushing Railroad.
For a short period during the 1870s, it served not only the Port Washington Branch but also theWoodside Branch.The Woodside Branch ran across northwestern Queens, had one station at Junction Boulevard and 35th Avenue, and took commuters either to the formerWhitestone Branchor to what is todayCorona Yard.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. WhenWinfieldstation 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 theIndependent Subway System'sQueens Boulevard Lineto Jamaica.[4]
The station underwent a renovation and became ADA-accessible in the 1990s, during which time the platforms were extended to accommodate 12-car trains.[5][6]The renovated station was designed by Urbahn Architects.[6]
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.[7][8]The death resulted in the LIRR andMetro-North Railroadimplementing an aggressiveplatform gap mitigation[7]: 7 platform conductor personnel, and "Watch the gap"programs.[9][10][7]: 6
Station layout
editThis station has three 12-car long high-level platforms. The northern one, aside platform(Platform C) next to Track 1 of the Port Washington Branch, is generally used by westbound orManhattan-bound trains. The central one, anisland platform(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 orManhattan-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.[11]
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.
| 3F Subway platforms |
Southbound local | ← toward34th Street–Hudson Yards(52nd Street)
|
Island platform
| ||
| Peak-direction express | ← AM rush toward 34th Street–Hudson Yards(Queensboro Plaza)PM rush/evenings towardFlushing–Main Street(Junction Boulevard)→
| |
| Island platform
| ||
| Northbound local | toward Flushing–Main Street(69th Street)→
| |
| 2F | Mezzanine | Connection between subway and LIRR, station agent,MetroCardandOMNYmachines Multiple accessible entrances:
|
| 1F LIRR platforms |
Platform C,side platform
| |
| Track1 | ←Port Washington BranchtowardPenn StationorGrand Central Madison(Terminus) | |
| Track2 | Port Washington BranchtowardGreat NeckorPort Washington(Mets–Willets Point)→ | |
| Platform B,island platform
| ||
| Track3 | ←Main Lineservices towardPenn StationorGrand Central Madison(Terminus) | |
| Track1 | ←Main Lineservices do not stop here → | |
| Track2 | ←Main Lineservices do not stop here → | |
| Track4 | Main Lineservices towardJamaicaandPoints East(Forest Hills)→ | |
| Platform A,side platform
| ||
| G | Street level | Entrances/exits |
References
edit- ^Long Island Rail Road (May 14, 2012)."TIMETABLE No. 4"(PDF).p. III.RetrievedAugust 4,2022.
- ^Vincent F. Seyfried,The Long Island Rail Road: A Comprehensive History, Part Two: The Flushing, North Shore & Central Railroad,© 1963
- ^"2012-2014 LIRR Origin and Destination Report: Volume I: Travel Behavior Among All LIRR Passengers"(PDF).Metropolitan Transportation Authority.August 23, 2016. PDF pp. 15, 197.Archived(PDF)from the original on July 17, 2019.RetrievedMarch 29,2020.
Data collection took place after the pretest determinations, starting in September 2012 and concluding in May 2014..... 2012-2014 LIRR O[rigin and ]D[estination] COUNTS: WEEKDAY East/West Total By Station in Numerical Order... Woodside
- ^"L.I.R.R. to Drop Way Trains From N.Y. to Jamaica. Line Anticipates $750,000 Loss When Subway Opens, Is Plea at Hearing".Brooklyn Times Union.March 18, 1936.RetrievedDecember 2,2021– via Newspapers.com.
- ^Lutz, Philip (June 27, 1993)."L.I.R.R. Remodels 18 Stops for Disabled".The New York Times.RetrievedJune 22,2022.
- ^ab"Woodside Station Complex".Urbahn Architects.March 1, 2019.RetrievedDecember 21,2022.
- ^abc"Railroad Accident Brief RAB-09-01"(PDF).www.ntsb.gov.March 13, 2009 [2006]. p. 1.RetrievedMarch 30,2020.
- "Passenger Fatality on Long Island Rail Road".National Transportation Safety Board.Archived fromthe originalon January 3, 2015.
- ^"Mother Of Teen Who Died In LIRR Train Gap Commits Suicide".NBC New York.Associated Press.May 19, 2009.Archivedfrom the original on March 30, 2020.RetrievedMarch 30,2020.
- ^Castillo, Alfonso A. (June 24, 2009)."NTSB: Series of circumstances led to gap fall death".Newsday.RetrievedMarch 30,2020.[dead link]
- ^"PTSB ISSUES INTERIM RECOMMENDATIONS IN GAP INVESTIGATION: Long Island Railroad Already Implementing Measures"(Press release).New York State Department of Transportation.November 1, 2006.Archivedfrom the original on March 22, 2019.RetrievedMarch 30,2020.
- ^"MTA LIRR - Alternative Travel Options - Woodside".Metropolitan Transportation Authority.Archivedfrom the original on February 20, 2020.RetrievedMarch 30,2020.
External links
edit
Media related toWoodside (LIRR station)at Wikimedia Commons
