City Terminal Zone Explained

City Terminal Zone
Type:	Commuter rail
System:	Long Island Rail Road
Status:	Operational
Locale:	Long Island, New York, United States
Start:	Western termini: Atlantic Terminal Hunterspoint Avenue Long Island City Penn Station Grand Central Madison
End:	Eastern termini: Woodside (Port Washington Branch) Jamaica (all other lines)
Stations:	12 (11 passenger, 1 employees-only) 1 future station
Owner:	Long Island Rail Road
Operator:	Long Island Rail Road
Electrification:	(electrified portions)
Map State:	collapsed

The City Terminal Zone is the set of Long Island Rail Road lines within New York City west of Jamaica station, except the Port Washington Branch.

Routes

Current routes

There are four routes that are part of the City Terminal Zone:^[1]

• New York Penn Station (NYP) – Trains that, from Jamaica, travel west along the Main Line to Penn Station in Manhattan via the East River Tunnels.
• Grand Central Madison (GCM) – Trains that travel along the Main Line to Grand Central Madison via East Side Access, which includes the lower level of the 63rd Street Tunnel and a new tunnel under Park Avenue.^[2] Due to clearance restrictions in the tunnel, the C3 bilevel cars cannot access the terminal.
• Atlantic Terminal (AT) – Trains that travel along the Atlantic Branch to Brooklyn.
• Long Island City (LIC) – Trains that serve Hunterspoint Avenue and Long Island City in Queens. These trains also use the Main Line west of Jamaica, but typically skip Woodside, Forest Hills, and Kew Gardens. This route is served only during weekday rush hours in the peak direction (to Long Island City in the morning, from Long Island City in the afternoon).

Former routes

The City Terminal Zone formerly included the Lower Montauk Branch from Long Island City to Jamaica until passenger service on that route was discontinued in November 2012. This line formerly included Penny Bridge, Haberman, Fresh Pond, Glendale, and Richmond Hill stations until they were closed in March 1998.^[3]

Stations

East of, trains continue in Long Island on the Main Line (Hempstead, Oyster Bay, Port Jefferson, Ronkonkoma), Atlantic Branch (Far Rockaway and Long Beach), and Montauk Branch (West Hempstead, Babylon, Montauk).

The Atlantic Terminal, Nostrand Avenue, and East New York stations are primarily served by a shuttle running between Atlantic Terminal and Jamaica. These stations are also served by West Hempstead Branch trains, as well as a limited number of weekday peak trains from the Hempstead and Babylon branches. Other trains traveling east of Jamaica only run to Penn Station, Grand Central Madison, or Long Island City.^{[4] [5]}

Zone	Routes				Location	Station	Connections and notes
	NYP	GCM	AT	LIC
1	■				Midtown Manhattan		Amtrak (long distance): Cardinal, Crescent, Lake Shore Limited, Palmetto, Silver Meteor, Silver Star Amtrak (intercity): Acela Express, Adirondack, Carolinian, Empire Service, Ethan Allen Express, Keystone Service, Maple Leaf, Northeast Regional, Pennsylvanian, Vermonter NJ Transit Rail: Gladstone, Montclair-Boonton, Morristown, Northeast Corridor, North Jersey Coast, Raritan Valley lines New York City Subway: (at), (at) New York City Bus:
		■					Metro-North Railroad Harlem, Hudson, and New Haven linesNew York City Subway 4, 5, 6,, and S (at Grand Central–42nd Street station)
				■	Long Island City, Queens		New York City Subway: (at) MTA Bus: NYC Ferry: East River
				■		Hunterspoint Avenue	New York City Subway: (at), (at) New York City Bus: MTA Bus:
	■	■			Woodside, Queens		Long Island Rail Road Port Washington Branch New York City Subway: at New York City Bus: MTA Bus:
	■	■			Forest Hills, Queens		New York City Subway: (at) MTA Bus:
	■	■			Kew Gardens, Queens	Kew Gardens	New York City Bus: MTA Bus:
			■		Downtown Brooklyn		New York City Subway: (at Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center) New York City Bus:
			■		Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn		New York City Subway: (at) New York City Bus:
			■		East New York, Brooklyn		New York City Subway: at, (at Broadway Junction) New York City Bus:
			■		Richmond Hill, Queens	Boland's Landing	Employees only
3	■	■	■	■	Jamaica, Queens		Long Island Rail Road Babylon, Far Rockaway, Hempstead, Long Beach, Montauk, Oyster Bay, Port Jefferson, Ronkonkoma, West Hempstead branches New York City Subway: (at) New York City Bus: MTA Bus: Nassau Inter-County Express: AirTrain JFK: Jamaica Station Route

Future stations

The MTA planned a new station in Sunnyside, Queens, once East Side Access was completed.^{[6] [7]} The MTA later proposed in their 20-year needs assessment for 2025 to 2044 that Sunnyside station serve both the LIRR and the Metro-North Railroad, with the latter providing service to Penn Station after Penn Station Access is completed.^[8]

See also

• List of Long Island Rail Road stations

External links

• City Terminal Zone branch timetable

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2018-02-16. City Terminal Zone Timetable. 2020-08-16. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. New York.
2. Book: East Side Access Environmental Impact Statement. March 2001. New York. MTA Capital Construction. Chapter 28: Comments and Responses on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement. February 2, 2018.
3. News: Sengupta. Somini. March 15, 1998. End of the Line for L.I.R.R.'s 10 Loneliest Stops. en. The New York Times. 2020-08-16.
4. Web site: February 27, 2023 . LIRR full service begins Monday, 2/27, at Grand Central Madison; train schedules to change . February 27, 2023 . ABC7 New York.
5. Web site: Castillo . Alfonso A. . February 26, 2023 . East Side Access completed, LIRR riders get full service to Grand Central Madison Monday . February 27, 2023 . Newsday.
6. Web site: Kaufman . Maya . Queens Officials Renew Call For Sunnyside LIRR Station . Queens, NY Patch . February 11, 2019 . June 15, 2020.
7. Web site: Kully . Sadef Ali . Immediate Steps Seen for Sunnyside Development Plan . City Limits . March 10, 2020 . June 15, 2020.
8. Web site: MTA's 2025-2044 20-Year Needs Assessment . Metropolitan Transportation Authority . July 28, 2022.