Port Jefferson Branch


The Port Jefferson Branch is a rail line and service owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. The branch splits from the Main Line just east of Hicksville and runs northeast and east to Port Jefferson. Several stations on the Main Line west of Hicksville are served primarily by trains bound to/from the Port Jefferson branch, so LIRR maps and schedules for the public include that part of the Main Line in the "Port Jefferson Branch" service.
The Port Jefferson Branch is one of the busiest branches of the LIRR, with frequent electric service to Huntington where electrification ends, and diesel service east of Huntington continues to Port Jefferson. The MTA also refers to the line as the "Huntington/Port Jefferson Branch" or "Huntington Branch".

Service

Port Jefferson Branch service extends east from Floral Park, where the Hempstead Branch separates from the Main Line. The line west of Huntington is electrified and double tracked. Electrification extends to a point east of Huntington before Greenlawn station on a layup track for electric trains. East of there the line is single track with passing sidings at Greenlawn, east of East Northport, Kings Park, Smithtown and Stony Brook allowing trains traveling in opposite directions to pass each other.
Electric trains on the branch operate between Penn Station and Huntington, providing local service on the branch; additional weekday service operates between Penn Station and Hicksville. Trains to the Ronkonkoma Branch provide supplemental service; these usually run express, stopping only at Mineola and/or Hicksville. Additional service to Mineola is provided by Oyster Bay Branch trains, and a handful of Montauk Branch trains also stop at Mineola and Hicksville on weekdays; one Montauk-bound train makes a stop at Hicksville overnight, though the vast majority of Montauk Branch trains that run on the branch do not stop. Service on the unelectrified portion of the branch between Port Jefferson and Huntington is usually provided by diesel shuttles running between Port Jefferson and either Huntington or Hicksville, where customers transfer to electric trains for service to New York City. During rush hours, the branch sees extra service, including direct electric service to Atlantic Terminal, service to Penn Station that bypasses Jamaica, and direct service to Hunterspoint Avenue, Long Island City, or Penn Station from stations east of Huntington.
Stations on the electrified portion that have the heaviest traffic include Mineola, Hicksville, and Huntington. On the non-electrified portion, the heaviest traffic tends to be to the Stony Brook station where Stony Brook University is located.

Infrastructure improvements

New Electric Yard

The branch has no yard to store electric trains; east of Huntington, a single layup track with room for three trainsets is used for storage. Because of this lack of space, electric trains must deadhead from as far away as the West Side Yard in Manhattan, around away from Huntington, for rush-hour service.
Construction of a new electric yard would rectify this issue and allow the LIRR to increase branch service when East Side Access is completed and service to Grand Central Terminal begins. In the early 2000s, the MTA performed environmental studies evaluating over a dozen sites between Huntington and Smithtown for usage as a yard. Electrification of the line would have to be extended if a site beyond Huntington was chosen; a site near Huntington would eliminate this need. Communities near the sites opposed the MTA's efforts to advance work on a new yard, arguing that the MTA was too secretive and that the increased train service and train movements would hurt their communities and decrease their quality of life. One commenter asserted that a yard would turn the communities along the line into the MTA's "storage closet" for East Side Access. Some opponents of the plan also argued that the MTA should extend electrification to Port Jefferson to utilize the existing diesel rail yard there, but a full electrification of the line would add more expenses to the project.
The MTA neglected to provide any funding for the project in its 2005-2009 Capital Program, deferring it until 2015. The agency budgeted $8 million in its 2015-2019 Capital Program to conduct new environmental studies, create new designs and acquire land for a new electric yard. Construction would be funded in a future Capital Program., the MTA was also considering other options, such as extending electrification and/or a second track from Huntington to Port Jefferson.

History

The line from Hicksville to Syosset was chartered in 1853 as the Hicksville and Syosset Railroad and opened in 1854. The LIRR later planned to extend to Cold Spring Harbor, but Oliver Charlick, the LIRR's president, disagreed over the station's location, so Charlick abandoned the grade and relocated the extension south of Cold Spring, refusing to add a station stop near Cold Spring for years. Another argument at Huntington led to the line bypassing the town two miles to the south, though a station was built. The line was extended from Syosset past Huntington to Northport in 1868, and in 1873 the 1870-chartered Smithtown and Port Jefferson Railroad opened from a mile south of Northport to Port Jefferson, turning the old line into Northport into the Northport Branch, the result of another argument between Charlick and Northport.
The Port Jefferson Branch was extended to Wading River in 1895, and became known as the Wading River Branch. The line was once slated to continue eastward and rejoin the Main Line at either Riverhead or Calverton. From 1905 to 1928, Wading River was also the site of an LIRR demonstration farm. The other one was east of Medford station on the Main Line.
The grade crossing with New York Avenue in Huntington was eliminated in 1909 as that road was lowered below grade. In 1910 and 1911 work was undertaken to reduce grades and eliminate sharp curves along the line between Syosset and Huntington. The project eliminated grade crossings, shortened the line by, and provided two million yards of excavated material that could be used for the reconstruction of Jamaica station. In 1911, the line's second track was extended from Hicksville to Cold Spring. In 1985, the second track was extended from just East of Syosset to just West of Huntington to alleviate a single-track bottleneck.
The line east of Port Jefferson was abandoned in 1938. The right-of-way is now owned by the Long Island Power Authority and used for power lines but there are plans to create a rail trail for bicycling, running, and walking. The Port Jefferson Branch was electrified from Mineola to Huntington Station in 1970. The former Northport Branch was abandoned in 1985, and the Kings Park Psychiatric Center spur was abandoned in 1988.

Kings Park Psychiatric Center Spur

Kings Park Psychiatric run-off also known as KPPC is an abandoned spur off the Port Jefferson Branch for the Kings Park Psychiatric Center. This spur started just west of Kings Park station, ran north of the station house, crossed Indian Head Road and then curved north to cross New York State Route 25A, where it ran along the western edge of the hospital property, and ended at the Hospital's coal power plant.
This spur was first used in 1896 for coal and passenger use on Sundays. The route was the second largest spur in the Long Island Rail Road system when it was first completed. The route came to an end during the late 1980s. Nowadays, this abandoned route is a Right-of-way for biking and is open to the public today. Also, today, only small fragments of rail remain as it most of it was removed during the demise of the complex.
On a small note, electrification reached from Mineola to Hicksville & Huntington in 1970. For 15 years from Amott Interlocking east of Syosset Station to west of Huntington it was single-tracked. In 1985, the LIRR constructed a second electrified track in that area to avoid the single track bottle neck, this included Cold Spring Harbor adding a second platform.

Electrification

In 1970, electrification was extended from Mineola to Huntington, the eastern limit of electrification on the branch. Since then, the LIRR has aspired to extend electrification beyond Huntington. In the 1980s, the railroad prepared to extend electrification to at least Northport, or Smithtown, although electrification of the Ronkonkoma Branch on the Main Line was seen as a higher priority, in part because the Main Line's central location in Suffolk County would benefit a larger number of people.
In December 1983, the LIRR announced that it was taking steps in the electrification of the branch, with the first step being the addition of a second electrified track between Huntington and Syosset. The second built along the south side of the existing track. The second track was expected to be open in 1986. In August 1983, Long Island Lighting Company started relocating its power line along the right-of-way between these points. The following month a contract to prepare the site and to construct the roadbed for the track was awarded for $9.5 million. In December 1983, grading and construction work was expected to begin that month, and track installation was scheduled to be completed by the end of 1985. As part of the project, the south platform was to be extended to accommodate 12-car trains. The design of the project to Northport was completed, and preliminary designs were expected to be completed by early 1984.
Bruce McIver, president of the LIRR at the time, estimated in 1986 that electrification of the branch would cost $320 million, including new rolling stock. He argued that the limited funds the railroad had set aside for electrification would be better spent on other improvements, such as signal and yard upgrades near Penn Station. Financial constraints acted as another obstacle to electrification to Northport. McIver also did not want to electrify the branch in a piecemeal fashion and wanted to wait until the railroad had the funds to electrify from Huntington to Port Jefferson all at once. In anticipation of electrification, from late 1985 to early 1986, the LIRR built full-length high-level platforms at all stations between Huntington and Port Jefferson. Because electrification has not occurred, these 12-car platforms are unique in the LIRR's diesel territory; the high-level platforms along the Montauk, Greenport and Oyster Bay diesel branches are all much shorter. Work to install centralized traffic control between Smithtown and Port Jefferson started in fall 1974 and was completed in March 1975. This project was intended to improve safety and to increase train speed. The change allowed trains to run in more than one direction at a time in single-track territory with the use of passing sidings.
On June 9, 1986, the double-tracking of the line between Syosset and Huntington was completed, and seven additional trains were added to the schedule. The second track speeded some trips by up to 15 minutes. The $41 million project started in September 1983 and included the widening of bridges at West Rogues Path and Woodbury Road.
Instead of electrification, the LIRR ultimately pursued dual-mode locomotives that could switch between diesel power and electric power to serve Penn Station. Senator Norman Levy said that "The people who ride the line would have just about all the positive aspects of electrification with this proposal." The LIRR's dual mode locomotives debuted in the late 1990s, providing two round trips during weekday rush hours between Penn Station and Port Jefferson, the first time a one-seat ride was available.

Proposed electrification extension

In 2015, multiple parties renewed calls for electrification of the branch. The LIRR estimated that electrification would cost up to $18 million per track mile, so electrification of the 23 miles from Huntington to Port Jefferson could cost approximately $414 million. In its 20-Year Needs Assessment, the agency lists electrification eastward as a long-term goal.
In September 2018, LIRR President Phillip Eng said the LIRR is still exploring the possibility of electrifying the remaining section of track between Huntington and Port Jefferson.

Grade crossing eliminations

The Port Jefferson Branch has also been known to have the most hazardous grade crossings in the country. On April 28, 1998, a bridge over Herricks Road opened, replacing a grade crossing which was once "labeled the most hazardous in the United States by the National Transportation Safety Board." The grade-crossing elimination project was initiated after an incident on March 14, 1982, when a van with ten teenagers got struck at the rail crossing with the crossing gates down, killing nine of them. The project took five years and cost $85 million. Work continued for a year to widen the overpass to allow for a future third track.
Other crossings eliminated along the branch include Mineola Boulevard in Mineola, crossings within Hicksville when the station was elevated in the early 1960s, and Charlotte Avenue in Hicksville. Ten years later Roslyn Road also in Mineola was eliminated in the same fashion. Several hazardous crossings still exist west of Huntington, including Robbins Lane and Jackson Avenue in Syosset; School Street in Westbury; Willis Avenue and Main Street in Mineola; then New Hyde Park Road, and 12th Street in New Hyde Park. East of Huntington, Main Street in Port Jefferson is considered quite hazardous.
The Third Track project is expected to close seven grade crossings, namely those in Westbury, Mineola, and New Hyde Park.
In late-2018 when the Third Track Project officially got underway, the first two crossings that would undergo elimination would be Urban Avenue in Westbury, and Covert Avenue in New Hyde Park. Construction to eliminate began from February–April 2019 with the closures of both roads. On the weekend of July 20–21, 2019, the trestle that will carry the three tracks was installed at Urban Avenue. After construction of retaining walls, pedestrian walkway, and the repaving of the road, Urban Avenue was officially reopened on September 5, 2019. Covert Avenue underwent the installation of a three-track trestle on August 24–25 and reopened on October 12th, 2019. Main Street in Mineola, the pedestrian crossing at Mineola's station, and 12th Street in New Hyde Park will be permanently closed to pedestrian and vehicular traffic. The remaining crossings will be officially eliminated by mid-2021.

Stations

West of, trips go on to terminate at,,, or. Stations east of on the former Wading River Branch were abandoned on October 3, 1938.
ZoneLocationStationMiles
from NYP		Date
opened		Date
closed		Connections / notes
4New Hyde Park c. 1837Nassau Inter-County Express:
Originally named Hyde Park
4Garden City Park 1837Originally named Clowesville, then Garden City
4Mineola 1837Long Island Rail Road: Ronkonkoma, Montauk, Oyster Bay branches
Nassau Inter-County Express:
Originally named Hempstead, then Branch or Hempstead Branch
7Carle Place 1842Nassau Inter-County Express:
Originally named Carll Place
7Westbury 1837Nassau Inter-County Express:
7New Cassel18751876
7Hicksville 1837Long Island Rail Road: Ronkonkoma Branch
Nassau Inter-County Express:
7Syosset-----
7Syosset19521973
7Syosset 1854
7Syosset1875c. 1901Replaced by Cold Spring Harbor
9West Hills c. 1901
9Huntington Station 1868Suffolk County Transit:
Terminus of electrification
9Greenlawn c. 1868Huntington Area Rapid Transit:
Originally named Centreport
9East Northport 1873Suffolk County Transit:
Huntington Area Rapid Transit:
Originally named New Northport, then Northport East
10Kings Park 1872Suffolk County Transit:
Originally named St. Johnsland
10Smithtown 1872Suffolk County Transit:
10St. James 1873
10St. James19101958
10Stony Brook 1873Suffolk County Transit:
SBU Transit: Outer Loop, Railroad Routes 1, Railroad Route 2
10Setauket-East Setauket1873c. 1980
10Port Jefferson Station 1873Suffolk County Transit:
Port Jefferson Jitney
Miller Place60.5 18981938
Rocky Point64.4 18981938Freight house still exists as a lumber yard
Shoreham65.7 19001938
Wading River68.7 18951938