The next stop for the Long Island Rail Road is Elmhurst.
The MTA recently announced the approval of the 2015-2019 Capital Program, which includes the $40 million reconstruction of the Elmhurst LIRR station that was closed in 1985 and later dismantled.
The Elmhurst stop on the Port Washington branch disappeared amid a sharp decrease in ridership during the 1980s. In 2012, Councilman Daniel Dromm, Congressman Joseph Crowley and Congresswoman Grace Meng called on the LIRR to reopen the station, which was located on Broadway between Cornish and Whitney avenues.
“Restored LIRR service to Elmhurst will help bolster the local economy by providing greater access to the neighborhood’s wide variety of cuisines, top-notch cultural institutions and other unique destinations,” Dromm said.
The MTA included the project within the LIRR’s $380 million Capital Program. The new station will include two new 12-car platforms, staircases, platform railings, platform shelters, ticket vending machines, lighting, communication and security systems, and site improvements, according to the capital plan.
The agencies will spend $4 million in 2016 for initial planning, environmental reviews and design, and the remaining $36 million will be spent on construction in 2018.
“For Elmhurst, one of Queens’ most vibrant and fastest-growing communities, the reopening of its LIRR station will be transformational,” Crowley said. “I applaud the MTA board for approving the project as part of its 2015-19 capital program and I thank both Congresswoman Grace Meng and Council member Daniel Dromm for their roles in helping to make this a reality. After years of advocating for this new station, the MTA board approval means we are yet one step closer to not only ensuring local residents have the transportation options they deserve but also making sure Elmhurst lives up to its full economic potential.”
