Republic station

Republic was a station stop along the Ronkonkoma Branch which served employees of the Fairchild Engine & Airplane Manufacturing Company and the nearby Republic Airport from 1940 to the late 1980s. As part of a double-tracking project on the line, the station may be reopened.

Republic
Remains of the staircase to the former Republic station
General information
Location	Broad Hollow Road and Conklin Street Farmingdale, New York
Coordinates	40.740278°N 73.421944°W / 40.740278; -73.421944
Owned by	Long Island Rail Road
Line(s)	Main Line
Platforms	2 side platform
Tracks	2
Other information
Station code	None
History
Opened	December 9, 1940
Closed	1986 or 1987
Former services
Preceding station Long Island Rail Road Following station Farmingdale toward Penn Station or Grand Central Ronkonkoma Branch Pinelawn toward Ronkonkoma Preceding station Long Island Rail Road Following station Farmingdale toward Long Island City or Penn Station Main Line Pinelawn toward Greenport

History

Original station

Republic station opened on December 9, 1940, with simple wooden shelters for passengers. When electrification was extended from Hicksville to Ronkonkoma in the 1980s, the LIRR proposed to close the stops at Republic, Grumman, Pineaire, Brentwood, and Deer Park to speed travel times and to avoid the cost of building high level platforms at lightly used stations.^[1] The latter two were ultimately kept, but Republic closed in either 1986 or 1987 due to its low ridership and the high cost of new platforms.^[2][3][4] The old station platforms have been removed, but the two staircases down to Route 110 remain, though gated off.

Proposed reopening

As part of the project that added a second track from Farmingdale to Ronkonkoma, the MTA is considering reopening Republic station.^[5][6] The reopened station would serve the Route 110 corridor, a major north–south commercial route.^[4] The station was cut from the project in 2010 due to budgetary issues, but revived in 2012.^[7][8] The MTA Board included money for planning and engineering in the approved 2015-2019 Capital Plan, and anticipates funding construction through a future Capital Plan.^[9]

References

1. Goldman, Ari L. (May 14, 1983). "L.I.R.R. SELECTS 5 OF ITS STATIONS FOR ELIMINATION". New York Times. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
2. "LONG ISLAND RAIL ROAD Alphabetical Station Listing and History". TrainsAreFun. Archived from the original on May 26, 2017. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
3. Ain, Stewart (May 11, 2008). "Station Site Envisioned as Village". The New York Times. Retrieved February 12, 2010.
4. "Connect Long Island: Double Track Main Line & TODs" (PDF). Transportation Research Forum. April 3, 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 7, 2015. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
5. "MTA LIRR Double Track Project - Ronkonkoma to Farmingdale (video)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. January 16, 2013. Archived from the original on December 20, 2021. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
6. Castillo, Alfonso A. (October 3, 2013). "MTA's 20-year to-do list replaces LIRR diesel trains, more". Newsday. Archived from the original on March 6, 2018. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
7. Castillo, Alfonso A. (April 26, 2010). "Plans for Republic Airport LIRR station put on hold". Newsday. Archived from the original on October 28, 2021. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
8. Hinko, Christy (June 1, 2012). "Senators Announce $138 Million To Advance New Republic Train Station". Farmingdale Observer. Archived from the original on July 8, 2015. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
9. "MTA Board Approves 2015-2019 Capital Plan". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. October 28, 2015. Archived from the original on November 1, 2015.

External links

• Grumman and Republic and the Long Island Rail Road (Arrt's Arrchives)
• Former staircases visible on Google Maps Street View