Long Island Rail Road - Major Stations

Major Stations

The LIRR operates out of three western terminals in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens. Jamaica Station in central Queens is the hub of all railroad activities. Expansion of the system into Grand Central Terminal is anticipated over the next few years. The list of major stations includes:

• Pennsylvania Station, in Midtown Manhattan, is the busiest of the LIRR's three western terminals, serving almost 500 daily trains. It is reached via the Amtrak-owned East River Tunnels (the only LIRR-used trackage not owned by the LIRR) from the Main Line in Long Island City. The New York City Subway's 34th Street – Penn Station (IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line) (1 2 3 trains) and 34th Street – Penn Station (IND Eighth Avenue Line) (A C E trains) stations are next to the terminal. It also connects LIRR with Amtrak and New Jersey Transit trains.

• Atlantic Terminal, formerly called Flatbush Avenue, in Downtown Brooklyn serves most other trains. It is next to the New York City Subway's Atlantic Avenue – Barclays Center station complex (2 3 4 5 B D N Q R trains), providing easy access to Lower Manhattan.

• A handful of weekday trains run to Hunterspoint Avenue or onward to Long Island City on the East River in Long Island City. From Hunterspoint Avenue, the Hunters Point Avenue subway station (7 <7> trains) can be reached for Midtown Manhattan access. The same subway trains can also be reached from Long Island City station at the Vernon Boulevard – Jackson Avenue subway station.

• Jamaica station is a major hub station and transfer point in Jamaica, Queens. Jamaica has eight tracks and five platforms, plus yard and bypass tracks. At Jamaica, passengers can transfer between trains on all LIRR lines except the Port Washington Branch, leading to the saying echoed by generations of LIRR Conductors "Change at Jamaica." Transfer is also made to separate facilities for three subway services at the Sutphin Boulevard – Archer Avenue – JFK station (E J Z trains), a number of bus routes, and the AirTrain automated electric rail system to JFK Airport. The railroad's headquarters are next to the station.

• Access to a fourth major terminal is currently under construction. In the late 2010s, the LIRR intends to start service to Grand Central Terminal via the East Side Access project; provision was made for this route on the lower level of the 63rd Street Tunnel under the East River, which carries the New York City Subway's IND 63rd Street Line (F train) on its upper level. The East Side Access project will reduce congestion while increasing the number of trains during peak hours.