Staten Island Railway

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Staten Island Railway (SIR, formerly SIRT) is a rapid transit line operating in the Borough of Staten Island, New York City, USA. Like the Template:BMT lines to Coney Island, it began as a normal railway but was later converted to R44 subway cars . It has been completely grade-separated from intersecting roads, with the last grade crossing eliminated in 1965. The main terminus is the Staten Island Ferry terminal in the St. George neighborhod of Staten Island, which allows Islanders to travel by ferry to Manhattan. There are also buses which connect with SIR stations that take passengers across the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge to Brooklyn.

Officially the Staten Island Rapid Transit Operating Authority (SIRTOA), and publicly styled MTA Staten Island Railway, the SIR is a subsidiary of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). SIRTOA operates and maintains the rail line on Staten Island pursuant to a lease and operating agreement with the City of New York. Current plans are to merge MTA Staten Island Railway with MTA New York City Transit's subway division to form MTA Subways.[1]

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Background

Originally, the SIRT operated three lines: a main north-south line covering the island end-to-end down its East and South Shores; a North Shore Branch with connections to Cranford Junction in New Jersey via the Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge that spans the Arthur Kill immediately north of the Goethals Bridge; and a South Beach Branch that was effectively a spur of the main line. The now-defunct North Shore Branch was linked with the nationwide rail network; on May 11, 1943, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill used it en route to a meeting with President Franklin D. Roosevelt in Washington, D.C. after his ship had landed in Tompkinsville. On October 21, 1957, a young Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip rode a special train from Washington, D.C. along the North Shore Branch to Stapleton to start their royal visit to New York City.

Today, only the north-south Main Line is in service. The last passenger trains on both the North Shore and South Beach Branches ran on March 31, 1953 (the right-of-way of the South Beach Branch was eventually de-mapped and the tracks have been removed), and the North Shore Branch saw its last freight train in 1990, although the tracks still exist in some places. The terminal station at St. George provides a direct connection to the Staten Island Ferry. In 2001, a small section of the North Shore branch (a few hundred feet) was reopened to serve the new Richmond County Bank Ballpark, home of the Staten Island Yankees; plans to reopen the remainder of the branch, to both freight and passenger service, are being studied, with one plan calling for the line to resume full operations between St. George and Port Ivory by 2015, though freight operations may resume earlier.

In 1971 the former Staten Island Rapid Transit Railway Company was acquired from its parent Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and became an MTA subsidiary for purposes of operation and maintenance; in March, 1973, new R44 cars — the same as the newest cars then in use on the subway lines in the other boroughs — were pressed into service on the Staten Island line, replacing the rolling stock that had been inherited from the Baltimore and Ohio days and had been in use since 1925 (the R44 cars are still in service as of 2005).

In 1994, as part of a public image campaign of the MTA, the various operating agencies of the MTA were given "popular names" at which time the public face of SIRTOA became MTA Staten Island Railway, which name is used on trains, stations, timetables and other public presentments.

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FRA oversight

Unlike the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) SIRTOA is subject to rules of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) but operates under a waiver which permits it to exempt itself from certain rules of equipment and operation usually required by the FRA.

This FRA status complicates any plan for combined freight and passenger operation, since any operation of freight equipment or connection to the national railroad system would threaten its waiver.

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Nature of the Line

In general appearance, the current operating line of SIR looks somewhat like an outdoor line of the New York City Subway. Since the 1960s it has been grade separated from all roads, but it runs more or less at street level for a brief stretch north of Clifton, between the Grasmere and Old Town stations west of the Academy of St. Dorothy, a Roman Catholic elementary school, and from south of the Pleasant Plains station to Tottenville, the end of the line. It uses NYC Transit-standard 660 V DC third rail power. Its equipment is specially modified subway vehicles, purchased at the same time as nearly-identical cars for NYCT. Heavy maintenance of the equipment is performed at the NYCT's Clifton Shops .

The right-of-way also includes elevated, embankment and open-cut portions, and a tunnel near St. George.

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Fares

The cash fare is $2. Fares are paid on entry and exit only at St. George and Ball Park (and in the case of the latter, only on trains to Tottenville, not St. George). Rides not originating or terminating at St. George or Ball Park are free.

Passengers often avoid paying the fare by exiting at Tompkinsville, and taking a short walk to the St. George ferry terminal. The MTA is considering installing high entrance/exit turnstiles (HEETs) at Tompkinsville. Some St. George-bound trains skip Tompkinsville to prevent people from exiting there.

Fare is also payable by MetroCard. Since this card enables free transfers for a continuing ride on the subway and bus systems, for many more riders there is effectively no fare at all for riding SIR. Because of this, the SIR's farebox recovery ratio in 2001 was 0.16—that is, for every dollar of expense, 16 cents was recovered in fares, the lowest ratio of MTA agencies.

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Operating Stations

Stations on Main Line:

Ball Park is open only for events at the minor league park and is served either by trains that run from St. George as a shuttle, or trains that stop at every stop except St. George.
Nassau and Atlantic are going to be replaced by a new ADA-compliant station between the two, with its proposed name being Arthur Kill Road, named for its location.

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Former stations on closed lines

Stations on North Shore Branch (closed in 1953, Currently being restored for future use):

Stations on South Beach Branch (closed in 1953 and demolished):

  • Rosebank - Located near Clifton Av and Tilson Pl.
  • Belair Road - Located near Belair Rd and Seth Loop.
  • Fort Wadsworth - Probably located near School Rd and Fingerboard Rd.(citation needed)
  • Arrochar - Located where Verrazano Bridge approach ramps currently stand.
  • Cedar Avenue - Located near Cedar Ave and Jackson Ave.
  • South Beach - Probably located near Robin Rd and Alex Circle.(citation needed)
  • Wentworth Avenue - Located near Wentworth Ave and Crestwater Ct.
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See also

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External links

Template:US class I

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