[*-)] In terms of common sense I knew there was a direct line (track ramp) that runs from Far Rockaway to Rockaway Park. I rode the A and S trains on March 2 2011 at the curve Where The eastbound Rockaway Park branch and westbound Far Rockaway Park branch curve northward there is a one track ramp that links both lines. How come there is no service that allows trains to run straight from Far Rockaway to Rockaway Park or vice versa? Instead you have S train shuttles running from broad channel to Rockaway Park. It makes no sense. This is an example of how corrupted and outdated our nation’s rail system is compared with Europe Spain Japan and China. How embarrassing!!!
MTA is a funding agency, they do not run trains.
NYCTA and LIRR and MNCR do.
I live in New York City and saying that the lack of service is the result of outdated railway system and corruption is a comment that is bit out there in left field. While I would say it’s not surprising that such a jaded comment was made considering how this planet has recently embraced the notion that “regime change will solve all of our problems” (particularly in the Middle East), I will say that such a conversation is for a different forum. My overall impression is that there seems to be a lack of knowledge of there area.
For those who are not familiar with the area, the Rockaways is a long, quarter of a mile wide pennisula facing the Atlantic Ocean that is approximately 12 miles (as the bird flies) away from Manhattan and just south of JFK Airport. It’s about a 45 minute subway ride from Midtown Manhattan. The subway service is the successor of the Long Island Railroad service from the middle of the last century when LIRR provided service to area for Manhattanites looking to escape “the city” for even though they never technically went beyond the city limits. The subway line from Manhattan surfaces and then follows the ex-LIRR right-of-way to the Rockaways.
With that said, there’s a simple reason that no trains run on segment of track: the demand for the service is not there. During a railfanning trip I did the same round-about trip Mr. Alloboard has made and yes it is a very tedious trip. But the fact of the matter is the Rockaways is a primarily residential and beach area. Residents who live out there commute on the “mainland” either by the subway , bus, or car for work. For those who do have a car out there (and there are many of them), if they want to go from the Far Rockaway Beach area to the Rockaway Park area, they can drive. If they can’t drive, there are two bus lines that run the length main drag between the two stations and beyond. To me it sounds like the buse
Yes, the simple answer is that the need to go from Far Rockaway to Rockaway Beach is not worth a dedicated train. People are coming out of Manhatten or Brooklyn going to and from Far Rockaway or Rockaway Beach. The Long Island Railroad still has service to Far Rockaway via Jamaica and Valley Stream. The LIRR Rockaway Branch suffered a fire on the trestle accross Jamaica Bay in the early 50’s and gave up on the service. NYC Transit Authority snapped it up and began extended the A train service to Far Rockaway. The LIRR did provide service all the way to Rockaway Beach via Valley Stream both before and after the demise of the Branch. Today, there is about a quarter to a half mile “walk” from the end of LIRR track to the A train station. My Ride With Me Henry Group has done the circle trip out of Penn Station to Hempstead, to W. Hempstead, to Valley Stream to Far Rockaway to the A train and several other rides for railfans only covering all of the ridable LIRR routes and soon hopes to tackle the above ground trackage of the MTA which we’ve not covered. They are historical routes as well as interesting both operationally as well as physically.