IND Rockaway Line
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The IND Rockaway Line is a rapid transit line of the IND Division of the New York City Subway. It branches off of the IND Fulton Street Line at Rockaway Boulevard, extending over the Jamaica Bay, into the Rockaways.
[edit] History
The line dates back to 1892, when it first saw service by the Long Island Rail Road. In the late 1890s, the Brooklyn Elevated Railway (later BRT) got permission to use Brooklyn el trains on the line for beach access. The city soon began eyeing the line as popularity soared.
In 1950 a serious track fire destroyed the trestle across Jamaica Bay, and as a result the line was deemed useless. Instead of repairing it, the LIRR decided to abandon the line in favor of their "land route" to Far Rockaway via Nassau County. The city bought the line for $8.5 million and spent an additional $47.5 million to convert it for subway use.
The line was incorporated into the Independent Subway System, and all of the stations except Far Rockaway–Mott Avenue, opened on June 28, 1956, with the Far Rockaway station opening January 16, 1958.
The line charged a double fare which entailed the deposit of two tokens at the entry point and one token at the exit point. The unpopular double fare was abolished in 1975. In the late 1990s, outer tracks were installed to the north of Broad channel. The track to the west of the original tracks extends for a significant distance, and is used for testing of equipment. The track to the east of the original tracks is used for reversing trains on the Rockaway Park shuttle, and is significantly shorter then the test track. This track allows the shuttle to turn around significantly faster then it had been able to do before, when it was forced to relay at Howard Beach.
[edit] Station listing
| Station service legend | |
|---|---|
 |
Stops all times |
 |
Stops rush hours in the peak direction only |
| Time period details | |
 |
Station | Services | Opened | Transfers and notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
splits from the IND Fulton Street Line (A  ) |
||||
| Aqueduct Racetrack | A |
June 28, 1956 (subway) | Service northbound, and only when racetrack is open | |
| Aqueduct–North Conduit Avenue | A |
June 28, 1956 (subway) | ||
|
Howard Beach–JFK Airport | A |
June 28, 1956 (subway) | Connection to AirTrain JFK |
| Broad Channel | A S |
June 28, 1956 (subway) | ||
| Broad Channel to Far Rockaway (Far Rockaway Branch) | ||||
| Beach 67th Street | A |
June 28, 1956 (subway) | ||
| Beach 60th Street | A |
June 28, 1956 (subway) | ||
| Beach 44th Street | A |
June 28, 1956 (subway) | ||
| Beach 36th Street | A |
June 28, 1956 (subway) | ||
| Beach 25th Street | A |
June 28, 1956 (subway) | ||
| Far Rockaway–Mott Avenue | A |
January 16, 1958 (subway) | Connection to Long Island Rail Road at Far Rockaway | |
| Broad Channel to Rockaway Park (Rockaway Park Branch) | ||||
| Beach 90th Street | A  S |
June 28, 1956 (subway) | ||
| Beach 98th Street | A S |
June 28, 1956 (subway) | ||
| Beach 105th Street | A S |
June 28, 1956 (subway) | ||
|
Rockaway Park–Beach 116th Street | A S |
June 28, 1956 (subway) | |
|
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