railroad.wikisort.org - Station

The Rockaway Park–Beach 116th Street station is the western terminal station on the IND Rockaway Line of the New York City Subway, located on Beach 116th Street near Rockaway Beach Boulevard in Rockaway Beach, Queens. It is served by the Rockaway Park Shuttle at all times and ten daily rush-hour A trains in the peak direction.

Rockaway Park–Beach 116 Street  ​
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
Platform view looking east
Station statistics
Address	Beach 116th Street between Rockaway Beach Boulevard & Newport Avenue Queens, NY 11694
Borough	Queens
Locale	Rockaway Park
Coordinates	40.580725°N 73.83618°W / 40.580725; -73.83618
Division	B (IND, formerly LIRR Rockaway Beach Branch)[1]
Line	IND Rockaway Line
Services	A  (rush hours, peak direction) ​   S  (all times)
Transit	MTA Bus: Q22, Q35, Q53 SBS, QM16 ⛴ NYC Ferry: East River and South Brooklyn routes (on Beach Channel Drive and Beach 108th Street)
Structure	At-grade
Platforms	1 island platform
Tracks	2 (excludes 8 yard tracks adjacent to the station)
Other information
Opened	May 1882; 140 years ago (May 1882) (LIRR station)
Rebuilt	June 28, 1956; 66 years ago (June 28, 1956) (as a Subway station)
Accessible	ADA-accessible
Opposite- direction transfer	N/A
Traffic
2019	228,144[2]  5.1%
Rank	420 out of 424[2]
Services Preceding station New York City Subway Following station Terminus Rockaway Park Beach 105th Street A  ​S  toward Broad Channel
Former services Preceding station Long Island Rail Road Following station Seaside toward Woodside Rockaway Beach Division Terminus
Location Show map of New York City Subway Show map of New York City Show map of New York
Track layout Legend to Beach 105 St to Rock Pk Yd
Street map
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times Stops rush hours in the peak direction only

History

The station was originally built in 1882 as a Long Island Rail Road station on the Rockaway Beach Branch, was called Rockaway Beach, and contained a trolley stop for the Ocean Electric Railway, which eventually expanded their line further west to Belle Harbor and Neponsit. In 1899, the station was enlarged in order to accommodate the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company cars, and the name was changed to Rockaway Park.

In spring 1917, a second station was built as a replacement for the former station, which was razed. After a 1950 fire at The Raunt destroyed the trestle across Jamaica Bay, the LIRR rerouted Rockaway Beach service along the Far Rockaway Branch, then abandoned the Rockaway Beach Branch.[3][4] The New York City Board of Transportation purchased all stations on the branch in June 1952, and the New York City Transit Authority (successor to the Board of Transportation) closed them to LIRR service on October 3, 1955 in order to convert many of them into subway stations.[3][4] The current station, Rockaway Park–Beach 116th Street, opened on June 28, 1956, with all other stations on the Rockaway Line except Far Rockaway.[5][6][7][8][9] Far Rockaway reopened in 1958 after being rebuilt for Subway use,[10] and the LIRR opened a new Far Rockaway station on Nameoke Street.[3] Plans to add a subway line to the Rockaway Peninsula actually date back to the 1920s and originally involved extending the western terminus along Newport Avenue to Beach 149th Street, rather than its current terminus at Rockaway Park.[11][12][13]

In 2002, it was announced that Rockaway Park would be one of ten subway stations citywide to receive renovations.[14] Starting in May 2007, the station building, platform and yard area underwent renovation. The new station building was unveiled in early November 2007.

Station layout

G Platform level	Yard tracks	No passenger service
	Track 2	toward Broad Channel (Beach 105th Street) → AM rush toward Inwood–207th Street (Beach 105th Street) →
	Island platform
	Track 1	toward Broad Channel (Beach 105th Street) → AM rush toward Inwood–207th Street (Beach 105th Street) →
	Yard track	No passenger service
	Street level	Exits/entrances
	Station house	Lobby, fare control, station agent, police precinct Station at street level

The station is at ground level. There are two tracks and an island platform. The tracks end at bumper blocks at the west (railroad south) end of the platform.

On either side of the station are tracks leading to the Rockaway Park Yard. Originally, terminal tracks with low-level platforms occupied the yard area during the LIRR years.[3][4] The area of the current high-level platform was part of the LIRR depot yard.

Exit

Because the entrance is at street level, the station is ADA accessible without the use of an elevator or ramps.[15] The station house is made of concrete with windows and plywood walls and a brick exterior. It also has an entrance leading to an adjacent restaurant.[16] An examination of the station house shows the former ticket windows, which were used when the line was part of the LIRR. The station houses Transit Police District 23,[16] which was moved to the station in June 1977.[17] A new police facility was opened on September 18, 2009.[18][19][20][21] A NYCDOT municipal parking lot lies just north of the station.[16][22]

Gallery

• 
  Mezzanine and police precinct
• 
  Postcard, ca. 1917
• 
  Platform reconstruction in 2007
• 
  Northern half of the platform

References

External links

• nycsubway.org – IND Rockaway: Rockaway Park/Beach 116th Street
• Station Reporter — Rockaway Park Shuttle
• Rockaway Park Station History (Arrt's Arrchives)
• The Subway Nut — Rockaway Park–Beach 116th Street Pictures
• MTA's Arts For Transit — Rockaway Park–Beach 116th Street (IND Rockaway Line)
• Beach 116th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Platform from Google Maps Street View

---