Friends of the QNS
Oct. 10, 2019. By Shane O’Brien
Advocates for a new train route between western Queens and JFK will be hosting an educational evening at a Glendale brewery tonight.
Friends of the QNS will host its “Ales and Rails” event at Finback Brewery at 78-01 77th Ave. in Glendale on Thursday, Oct. 10 between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., where they will present their proposal for a new rail line, called the QNS.
The group is calling for 8.5 miles of railway from Jamaica Station through Glendale and Ridgewood to Long Island City, where it would connect with the E, F, G, M, R and 7 subway trains. The QNS would also connect with the J and Z subways as well as the Long Island Rail Road.
Friends of the QNS is pushing to reactivate a section of the LIRR’s disused Lower Montauk line and say that the line would serve 6.6 million passengers annually.
The QNS would have 10 stations and would run through areas that are not well served by the subway system. Friends of the QNS argue that the line would increase the area of Queens serviced by the subway by up to 13 percent.
The group says that the line will connect Queens residents with a booming commercial hub, decrease pressure on the subway and the LIRR and increase the capacity of city transport.
The DOT conducted a feasibility study on the QNS in January 2018 and found that there is a potential ridership base and workable operating plan for passenger service.
The MTA discontinued the Lower Montauk Branch of the LIRR in 1998 due in part to a lack of ridership. The tracks have since been used by freight trains.
The event is free, but the group is asking that attendees RSVP here.
Map of The QNS (Friends of the QNS)
