Comptroller Backs Rock. Bch. Branch Reactivation
Support for the reactivation of the LIRR Rockaway Beach Branch grew last week as the state’s top financial officer released a report that called the proposal a good, feasible investment for the MTA.
In the study of future MTA capital needs from State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, he urged the agency to explore all options and invest in ways to improve public transportation.
“Potential new strategies include rebuilding constrained subway junctions, and terminals, expanding station stairways and platforms, and converting available rights-of-way,” DiNapoli said.
“The MTA cites the former LIRR Rockaway Beach Branch as an example of this approach,” according to the report. “Restoring service on the Rockaway Beach Branch would be a less costly way to speed commutes between South Queens and Manhattan, improve travel within the borough, and promote economic growth.”
The Rockaway Beach Branch was shuttered in 1962. Part of the line was used to bring the A subway to Far Rockaway, and an unused, three miles of track have laid empty since.
Passengers boarding in Rockaway could ride the train all the way into Manhattan’s Penn Station if the line was reactivated. It could provide a single fare option, and reduce commute times into Manhattan by almost half, Rockaway residents claim. Reactivation could also improve travel within the borough–as passengers would be able to transfer to other subway lines, or LIRR trains.
The MTA still owns this right-ofway. Competing interests that include a plan to build a linear park on top of the tracks are vying to shape the future of the unused section.
Rockaway lawmaker Phil Goldfeder supports reactivation of the line and commended the report’s findings. He believes the line “would offer affordable, reliable transportation … and prepare our city for future growth.”
“This report is a huge step forward and I will continue to work closely with State Comptroller DiNapoli, my colleagues and the MTA until the Rockaway Beach Rail Line becomes a reality,” Goldfeder said.
Phil McManus, Founder of the Queens Public Transit Committee praised the report as well. He has advocated for better transportation in the city, and Rockaway specifically since the group was founded last year.
“It’s what we’ve been pushing,” McManus said of the report. “It’s a great thing to have someone in a higher office support the Rockaway Beach Line.”
McManus said a commute to Penn Station on the Rockaway branch would take around 50 minutes, compared to “at least 80 to 90 minutes” on the A line.
“It gives you the option to go north to south in Queens,” he added. “There is a real problem going north to south in Queens.”
