Ride The Rails

THE LONG ISLAND RAIL ROAD STATION IN JAMAICA IS ONE OF THE MAJOR HUBS OF

THE ENTIRE SYSTEM. Tribune Photo By Ira Cohen

 

T hough subway and bus services crisscross the borough, they are not always the best way to get in and out of Queens. The Long Island Rail Road provides a great way to head out to Long Island or into Manhattan, as well as work your way through the borough.

According to the MTA, the LIRR is the busiest commuter railroad in North America, carrying an average of 274,000 customers every weekday on 730 daily trains. Chartered in 1834, it is also the oldest railroad still operating under its original name.

Comprised of more than 700 miles of track on 11 different branches, the LIRR stretches

from Montauk on the eastern tip of Long Island to Penn Station in the heart of Manhattan, approximately 120 miles away. Along the way, the LIRR serves 124 stations in Queens, Nassau, Suffolk, Brooklyn and Manhattan, providing service for some 81 million customers each year, taking them to and from jobs, homes, schools, sporting events, concerts, beaches, Broadway shows, and the multitude of other attractions around the New York metropolitan region.

Nearly 500 of the railroad’s daily trains originate or terminate at Penn Station in Manhattan. Most of the remainder originate or terminate at Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn, with a number of others originating or terminating at Hunters Point and Long Island City in Queens.

Some of most heavily used stops in Queens include Jamaica, Forest Hills, Flushing and Bayside.

For information on exact schedules go to www.mta.info/lirr/

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