Hempstead Branch


The Hempstead Branch is an electrified rail line and service owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. The branch begins at the Main Line at , just east of Queens Village station. It parallels the Main Line past Bellerose to Floral Park, where it splits southward and continues east via the village of Garden City to . There it turns south to the final two stations, Country Life Press and Hempstead.
LIRR maps and schedules show Hempstead Branch service continuing west along the Main Line to Jamaica. The Hempstead Branch's trains stop at Hollis and Queens Village stations on the Main Line, but these two stations are not served by any other Main Line branch. The line is double tracked to just east of Garden City Station, where it is reduced to one track at for the final to Hempstead station.

History

The original Hempstead Branch of the LIRR ran south from Mineola, ending just west of the current terminal in Hempstead. It opened on July 4, 1839 as the first branch of the LIRR.
The Central Railroad of Long Island opened from Flushing east to Hempstead Crossing and south to Hempstead on January 8, 1873; the main line east from Hempstead Crossing opened later that year on May 26. CRRLI extended their line east to Bethpage, Farmingdale, and Babylon resulting in the creation of their own Hempstead Branch running parallel to the one owed by the LIRR. The Central Railroad's successor, the Flushing, North Shore and Central Railroad, was leased to the LIRR on May 3, 1876, and in June a connection at Hempstead Crossing was built, allowing trains from Mineola to use the ex-Central's Hempstead Branch; the original LIRR Hempstead Branch was abandoned south of Hempstead Crossing.
The old Central main line through Hempstead was named the Central Branch by the LIRR, while the line from Mineola on the LIRR's Main Line south past Hempstead Crossing to Hempstead was the Hempstead Branch. The New York Bay Extension Railroad opened the current West Hempstead Branch in 1893, resulting in a realignment of the Hempstead Branch from Hempstead Crossing south to Meadow Street to better connect to the new line.
Electric service on the current route of the Hempstead Branch, from Queens Village east along the Main Line and Central Branch and south along the Hempstead Branch to Hempstead, was inaugurated on May 26, 1908. In 1910, the branch's connection to the Main Line was double-tracked. The then-Hempstead Branch north to Mineola was electrified on October 20, 1926, along with the West Hempstead Branch.
The line north of Hempstead Crossing last saw passenger service on September 14, 1935, and was abandoned for freight in 1965. Park Interlocking at Floral Park was taken out in the circa-1960 grade crossing elimination; since then Hempstead Branch trains switch off the Main Line at Queens Village and continue next to it to Floral Park.

Projects

Stations

West of, most trips go on to terminate at, with some trips ending at or.
ZoneLocationStationMiles
from NYP		Date
opened		Date
closed		Connections and notes
3Jamaica, QueensHillside Facility1991Employees-only station
3Hollis, Queens1885New York City Bus:
MTA Bus:
3Queens Village, Queens-----
3Queens Village, Queens18371972Originally named Flushing Avenue, then Brushville, then Interstate Park, then Brushville Road
3Queens Village, Queens 1881New York City Bus:
Nassau Inter-County Express:
4------
4Elmont 2021-2023Proposed station
4Bellerose1898
4Floral Park1878Long Island Rail Road: Port Jefferson Branch
4Garden City 1873Nassau Inter-County Express:
4Garden City 1907
4Garden City 1872Nassau Inter-County Express:
4Garden City 1911
4HempsteadRosa Parks Hempstead Transit Center 1872Nassau Inter-County Express:, Mercy Medical Shuttle
Short Line Bus: 495