Long Island City (LIRR station)

Long Island City is a rail terminal of the Long Island Rail Road in Long Island City, Queens. Located within the City Terminal Zone at Borden Avenue and Second Street, it is the westernmost LIRR station in Queens and the end of both the Main Line and Montauk Branch. The station is wheelchair accessible.ServiceThe station is served only during weekday rush hours in the peak direction by diesel trains from the Oyster Bay, Montauk, or Port Jefferson Branches via the Main Line. Trains used to operate here via a connection to the Lower Montauk Branch but, no LIRR trains operate over that branch.HistoryThis station was built on June 26, 1854, and rebuilt seven times during the 19th Century. On December 18, 1902, both the two-story station building and office building owned by the LIRR burned down. The station was rebuilt on April 26, 1903, and electrified on June 16, 1910.Before the East River Tunnels were built, this station served as the terminus for Manhattan-bound passengers from Long Island, who took ferries to the East Side of Manhattan. The passenger ferry service was abandoned on March 3, 1925, although freight was carried by car floats through Gantry Plaza State Park to and from Manhattan until the middle 20th century. Today, ferry service is operated by NY Waterway. The station house was torn down again in 1939 for construction of the Queens–Midtown Tunnel, but still continued to operate as an active station, as it does today.