Flushing – Main Street (LIRR station)

Flushing Main Street
View from Eastbound Platform "B" to Port Washington
Station statistics
Address	Main Street & 41st Avenue Flushing, New York
Coordinates	40.757989°N 73.831086°W / 40.757989; -73.831086
Lines	Port Washington Branch
Connections	New York City Subway:   trains at Flushing – Main Street NYCT Bus: Q12, Q13, Q15, Q16, Q17, Q19, Q20A/Q20B, Q26, Q27, Q28, Q44, Q48, Q50, Q58 MTA Bus: Q25, Q34, Q65, Q66 NICE Bus: n20, n21
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	2
Parking	Yes (metered)
Other information
Opened	June 26, 1854 (NY&F)
Rebuilt	1865, 1870, 1913, 1958
Electrified	October 22, 1912 750V (DC) third rail
Owned by	Long Island Rail Road
Fare zone	3
Formerly	Flushing (1853-1870)
Traffic
Passengers (2006)	2,136
Services
Preceding station   LIRR   Following station Mets – Willets Point toward Penn Station Port Washington Branch Murray Hill toward Port Washington

Flushing Main Street is a station on the Port Washington Branch of the Long Island Rail Road, serving the neighborhood of Flushing, Queens. The station is part of CityTicket, and is in Zone 3. The station is located at Main Street and 41st Avenue, off Kissena Boulevard and is 9.5 miles (15.3 km) from Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan. Parking is provided at a municipal lot on 41st Avenue.

History

Flushing Main Street station was originally built in December 1853 by the New York and Flushing Railroad, but not opened until June 26, 1854. The station was named after both Flushing and Main Street, in order to distinguish itself from the former Flushing Bridge Street station that ran along the Whitestone Branch of the Long Island Rail Road that was later abandoned. Flushing Main Street would serve as the terminus of the NY&F until October 30, 1864 when a subsidiary known as the North Shore Railroad extended it out to Great Neck, and it was burned in order to prepare for a second station that was built between January and February 1865. It was razed again in 1870 and a third station was built between October and November 1870. Throughout the 1870s, Flushing Main Street and the rest of the line was acquired by the Flushing and North Side Railroad, which would then be merged with the Central Railroad of Long Island to form the Flushing, North Shore and Central Railroad, and finally become part of the Port Washington Branch of the Long Island Rail Road. Shortly after the line was electrified on October 22, 1912, the station was abandoned on November 11, 1912, as part of an effort by the Long Island Rail Road to bring the Port Washington Branch above and below street level depending on the location. In Flushing, the station was elevated along with the rest of the tracks on October 4, 1913. Until that point, the line used to run at grade and went through a tunnel under a girls' school just east of where the Main Street overpass stands today. The tunnel and the school were torn down to build the overpass and the open cut the line now runs through. In 1958, the elevated track level building was razed and replaced with a street level ticket office. Sheltered platforms exist on both sides of the tracks in the former station's place, and the sidewalks beneath the bridge serve as local businesses.

Platforms and tracks

The station has two high-level side platforms, each 10 cars long. The north platform next to Track 1, is generally used by westbound or Manhattan-bound trains. The south platform next to Track 2, is generally used by eastbound or Nassau County-bound trains. The branch has two tracks here.

Gallery

• 

  Rendering for planned elevator at Flushing station. (street view)

• 

  Rendering for planned elevator at Flushing station. (platform view)

• 

  Bombardier M7 7799 at the Flushing station.

• 

  1891 Station Map.

• 

  The current station house, almost underneath the bridge.

External links

• Official LIRR station information page for Flushing – Main Street
• Station timetable for Flushing – Main Street
• Unofficial LIRR Website Photos.
  • Views of Main Street Ticket Booth,
  • Embankment on south side of the tracks,
  • Views of Platform B (To Port Washington),
  • Shelter for and Staircase to Port Washington-bound Platform
  • Staircase to Platform A (To Manhattan)
• Main Street entrance from Google Maps Street View