Huntington (LIRR station)
Encyclopedia
Huntington is a station
Train station
A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...

 on the Port Jefferson Branch
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...

 of the Long Island Rail Road
Long Island Rail Road
The Long Island Rail Road or LIRR is a commuter rail system serving the length of Long Island, New York. It is the busiest commuter railroad in North America, serving about 81.5 million passengers each year. Established in 1834 and having operated continuously since then, it is the oldest US...

. It is located near New York Avenue (NY 110) and Broadway in Huntington Station, New York
Huntington Station, New York
Huntington Station is a hamlet in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 29,910 at the 2000 census....

, but is also accessible from Lenox Road and Fairground Avenue near East Second Street.

History

Huntington Station opened on January 13, 1868, amidst a great deal of controversy between the people of Huntington and Oliver Charlick over the right-of-way and station location which the people wanted directly within Huntington Village
Huntington (CDP), New York
Huntington is a hamlet located in the Town of Huntington in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The Census Bureau has also defined a census-designated place with the same name that corresponds to the most densely populated area, however local understanding of the hamlet may differ somewhat...

, specifically at Main Street
New York State Route 25A
New York State Route 25A is a state highway on Long Island in New York in the United States. It serves as the main east–west route for most of the North Shore of Long Island, running from the Queens Midtown Tunnel in the New York City borough of Queens at its western terminus to...

 and New York Avenue
New York State Route 110
New York State Route 110 is a major north–south state highway along the western border of Suffolk County, New York. It runs between the Village of Amityville in the Town of Babylon and Halesite in the Town of Huntington...

. Instead, the station is located approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south of the village in a hamlet originally known as "Fairground," because of a disagreement with Charlick and the Joneses, an affluent family that resided in the area.

Throughout much of the 20th century, the station served as a hub. One reason for this was that it also served as the southern terminus of the Huntington Trolley Spur
Huntington Railroad
The Huntington Railroad was established on July 19, 1890 with a trolley line between Huntington Village and Halesite. It was eventually extended to Huntington Railroad Station, then along what is today mostly NY 110 through Melville, Farmingdale, and as far south as the docks of Amityville...

 between 1890 and 1909. The trolley was electrified on June 17, 1898, and extended towards Melville
Melville, New York
Melville is a hamlet and census-designated place in the town of Huntington in Suffolk County on Long Island, New York, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, 14,533 people resided there.-Location:...

, Farmingdale
Farmingdale, New York
The Village of Farmingdale is an incorporated village on Long Island within the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, New York in the United States...

, and Amityville in 1909. The trolley ran between Halesite
Halesite, New York
Halesite is a hamlet in Huntington on the North Shore of Long Island in Suffolk County, New York, United States. Named after Nathan Hale, a captain in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War who was captured at a tavern in Halesite. There is a rock with a tribute to him at the...

 and Amityville until 1927.

The grade crossing at New York Avenue was eliminated between 1908 and 1909, which also required the relocation of the original station building, which was located south of the present structure. The current station building was built in 1909 and was renovated by the Long Island Rail Road for its centennial.

On October 19, 1970, the Port Jefferson Branch was electrified up to Huntington and high-level platforms were added. The station also became a transfer point for diesel trains serving the non-electrified portion of the branch, requiring most passengers traveling to and from points east to change at Huntington.

The first parking garage was constructed on the south side of the station in the 1980s. The following decade, Huntington Station saw major reconstruction that included the addition of handicap-accessible ramps, a second parking garage on the north side of the station, a second pedestrian bridge across both tracks, and a pedestrian bridge across New York Avenue.

The station currently has a total of 5,040 parking spaces, including 3,500 spaces in two garages on opposite sides of the tracks. The north garage will be renovated in 2010 using $1 million of Federal Stimulus
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, abbreviated ARRA and commonly referred to as the Stimulus or The Recovery Act, is an economic stimulus package enacted by the 111th United States Congress in February 2009 and signed into law on February 17, 2009, by President Barack Obama.To...

 funding.

Transit-oriented development

As one of the busiest stations on the LIRR, Huntington is a prime target for transit-oriented development
Transit-oriented development
A transit-oriented development is a mixed-use residential or commercial area designed to maximize access to public transport, and often incorporates features to encourage transit ridership...

. Currently, the largest proposal for TOD is Avalon Huntington Station, which will occupy a nearby lot southwest of the station and will contain 530 residential units in a walkable, mixed-use development.

Station layout

This station has two high-level side platform
Side platform
A Side platform is a platform positioned to the side of a pair of tracks at a railway station, a tram stop or a transitway. A pair of side platforms are often provided on a dual track line with a single side platform being sufficient for a single track line...

s, each 12 cars long. The north platform is adjacent to Track A and the south platform is adjacent to Track B. The Port Jefferson Branch has two tracks at this location.

Transfers between diesel and electric trains at Huntington are usually made on the north platform, with a diesel train following an electric train (or vice versa).

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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