Amtrak, the federal railway service, has proposed expanding into Long Island with a stop in Queens, a move that could reshape intercity travel in northeast America.
The expansion would feature three daily round-trip trains that would operate over Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor and Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) tracks. Proposed stops would be in Jamaica, Hicksville, and Ronkonkoma on Long Island.
While many details are still being planned out, Amtrak officials said bringing the national passenger rail service to the island’s two counties and Queens, the latter of which would be Amtrak’s second stop in NYC after Penn Station in Midtown, Manhattan, would be a game-changer for business travelers, tourists and anyone looking for new ways to traverse the Northeast without driving.
“We looked into this quite a bit about what the potential demand would be, and we believe there is a very strong demand of people coming from Suffolk, Nassau and Queens Counties to points south of NYC,” said Nicole Bucich, vice president of network development at Amtrak.
Traditionally, Long Islanders have relied mostly on the MTA’s LIRR for connecting to Amtrak in Penn Station. The introduction of the service to Queens and Long Island could provide direct routes to major cities along the Northeast Corridor, including Philadelphia and Washington, DC, without requiring a transfer in Manhattan.
According to Bucich, it also saves travel time. Travel time from Ronkonkoma is expected to be around three hours and 10 minutes to Philadelphia and five hours to Washington, DC.
“It is a one-seat ride that is trip time competitive,” she said. “That’s really what brings the demand for this service. When we have markets that the train service is competitive with auto travel time, that is the sweet spot of where people are going to want to take the train.”
Amtrak officials said the extension would give Long Island’s 5.4 million residents another rail option into other cities for the first time in over 80 years. It would also provide connections to JFK International Airport and Islip MacArthur Airport in Long Island.
Amtrak recently wrapped up the initial phase of a three-step study on the proposal. Steve Strauss, executive director of the Empire State Passengers Association, a transit advocacy group, said his organization “generally” supports the planned extension of the Amtrak trains.
“These trains will provide a one-seat ride for Long Island residents traveling south on the Northeast Corridor. It is also possible that one or more of these trains will continue beyond Washington to Virginia destinations off of the corridor,” Strauss explained. “Amtrak also believes these three trains will be popular with New Jersey residents and others who want an easier connection to JFK Airport via AirTrain at Jamaica station.”
What does the MTA say?
The proposal is making progress at a time when the MTA is currently at odds with Amtrak over another headline-making project: the repairs of the East River tunnels into Penn Station that began last month. Amtrak said the rehab work requires the shutdown of one of the tunnels, something LIRR officials have objected to as it can result in service disruptions of its trains.
If Amtrak comes to Queens and Long Island, Bucich said the agency’s three daily trains would be timed to not conflict with peak travel times of LIRR’s commuter trains.
MTA officials said they will work with Amtrak to make sure the proposed plans do not disrupt LIRR service.
“The Long Island Rail Road runs 50 trains to Ronkonkoma with even more going back to NYC every weekday, and we are working with Amtrak on its study,” MTA spokesperson Aaron Donovan said.
Funding the project
The federal government will fund Amtrak’s upcoming technical analysis of the proposal. Amtrak would pay for a local match.
“As we move forward, this is something that we’ll have to look at of what the infrastructure project requires, what federal funding sources would be available and what the local match would be, and who would contribute to that,” Bucich explained.
But much of that is to be determined, she added.
The technical analysis will include an outreach component with a series of public meetings throughout the study.
