Huntington station (LIRR)

Huntington is a station on the Port Jefferson Branch of the Long Island Rail Road in Huntington Station, Suffolk County, New York. It is located off New York Avenue (NY 110), which connects it to Melville, the Long Island Expressway, and Huntington.

This article is about the Long Island Rail Road station in Huntington Station, New York. For the town itself, see Huntington Station, New York. For other railroad stations, see Huntington Station (disambiguation) § Railroad stations.

Huntington
Huntington station in August 2022.
General information
Location	New York Avenue and Broadway Huntington Station, New York
Coordinates	40°51′9.69″N 73°24′38.30″W
Owned by	Long Island Rail Road
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	2
Connections	Suffolk County Transit: 1 Huntington Area Rapid Transit: H20, Blue, Red shuttles
Construction
Parking	5,040 spaces
Bicycle facilities	Yes
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Fare zone	9
History
Opened	January 13, 1868
Rebuilt	1909
Electrified	October 19, 1970[1] 750 V (DC) third rail
Passengers
2006	11,113 per day[2]
Services
Preceding station Long Island Rail Road Following station Cold Spring Harbor toward Penn Station or Grand Central Port Jefferson Branch electric service Terminus Cold Spring Harbor toward Penn Station or Long Island City Port Jefferson Branch diesel service Greenlawn toward Port Jefferson
Former services Preceding station Long Island Rail Road Following station Cold Spring Harbor toward Hicksville Wading River Branch Greenlawn toward Wading River
Location

History

Two of the station's pedestrian bridges – some of the many station improvements of the 1980s.

Same-platform transfer between trains at Huntington.

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 – specifically at Main Street and New York Avenue.^[3] Instead, the station is located approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south of the village in a hamlet originally known as "Fairground,"^[4] due to a disagreement between Charlick and the Joneses – an affluent family that resided in the area.^[5]

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 between 1890 and 1909. The trolley was electrified on June 17, 1898, and extended towards Melville, Farmingdale, and Amityville in 1909.^[6] The trolley ran between Halesite and Amityville until 1919, and was replaced in 1920 by another trolley which only ran as far south as Jericho Turnpike until 1927.^[5]

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.^[5]

On October 19, 1970, a project to electrify the Port Jefferson Branch up to Huntington was completed, following the completion of a project to install high-level platforms at the station.^[7] 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.^[8] 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.^[9]

Transit-oriented development

As one of the busiest stations on the LIRR, Huntington is a prime target for transit-oriented development. Avalon Huntington Station, which occupies a nearby lot southeast of the station and contains several hundred residential units in a walkable, mixed-use development,^[10] was opened in 2014.^[11]

Station layout

The station has two high-level side platforms, each 12 cars long. Both through trains and terminating trains use either platform, with designations noted in the branch timetable. Transfers between diesel and electric trains are generally made on the same platform, with a five-to-ten minute buffer in between the arrival of an electric train and departure of a diesel train (or vice versa).

East of the station is a 24-car-long storage siding. Electrification ends about 600 feet (180 m) west of Lake Road, so all electric trains that terminate here are stored on the siding. The LIRR had plans to build an electric equipment maintenance facility there, but the project was canceled due to community opposition.

The station boasts a series of 19 stained glass panels that can be viewed from the platform. They were created as part of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Arts for Transit program by East Hampton artist Joe Zucker. The panels are called For My Grandfather Noye Pride, a Locomotive Engineer, and make up a 115-foot depiction of a flatbed train carrying items familiar to Long Island including lobsters, whales, ducks and boats. The panels were created using 8,000 pieces of glass.^[12]

M	Mezzanine	Crossover between platforms
P Platform level	Platform A, side platform
	Track 1	←      Port Jefferson Branch toward Grand Central Madison, Hunterspoint Avenue, Jamaica, Long Island City, or Penn Station (Cold Spring Harbor) ←      Port Jefferson Branch toward Port Jefferson (Greenlawn) → ←      Port Jefferson Branch termination track →
	Track 2	←      Port Jefferson Branch toward Grand Central Madison, Hunterspoint Avenue, Jamaica, Long Island City, or Penn Station (Cold Spring Harbor) ←      Port Jefferson Branch toward Port Jefferson (Greenlawn) → ←      Port Jefferson Branch termination track →
	Platform B, side platform
	Street level	Entrance/exit to street, parking, buses

References

1. "Start New Timetable on Electrified Section". The New York Daily News. October 19, 1970. p. BQL1. Retrieved September 23, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "Average weekday, 2006 LIRR Origin and Destination Study" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 19, 2014.
3. "The Railroad Comes to the Town of Huntington (1868)" (PDF). Town of Huntington. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 29, 2011. Retrieved September 2, 2009.
4. Islip, NY Quadrangle (Map). 1:125,000. 30 Minute Series (Topographic). United States Geological Survey. 1904. § NW. Retrieved February 14, 2010.
5. Carter, A.J. (May 20, 2009). "Town, LIRR mark Huntington Station's Centennial". Town of Huntington. Archived from the original on July 25, 2011. Retrieved October 13, 2009.
6. "The Huntington Railroad". lirrhistory.com. Archived from the original on April 18, 2001. Retrieved September 2, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
7. Bamberger, Werner (October 20, 1970). "Change at Jamaica Is Only a Memory For 12,000 Riders". The New York Times. p. 88. Retrieved September 17, 2009.
8. Glass, Judy (November 23, 1980). "Station Parking Plan". The New York Times. Retrieved October 13, 2009.
9. Lutz, Phillip (June 27, 1993). "L.I.R.R. Remodels 18 Stops for Disabled". The New York Times. Retrieved October 13, 2009.
10. "Avalon Huntington Station". AvalonBay Communities. Retrieved June 18, 2010.
11. Morris, Deborah S. (January 8, 2014). "Controversial AvalonBay ready for residents". Newsday. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
12. Delatiner, Barbara (December 2, 2001). "The Commuters May Rush, But the Art is There to Stay". The New York Times. Retrieved December 28, 2013.

External links

• Huntington – LIRR
• Huntington LIRR timetable
• Huntington Traction Company; 1920-1927(Arrt's Arrchive)
• Former Coal Warehouse near Huntington Station (TrainsAreFun)
• HUNT Interlocking (The LIRR Today)
• New York Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View