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 eying the line as popularity soared. Additionally the Ocean Electric Railway used part of it as a connection between the Far Rockaway and Rockaway Beach Branches.
In 1950 a serious track fire between The Raunt and Broad Channel Stations 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, something they were planning to do as far back as the late 1920s.
The line was incorporated into the Independent Subway System and connected to the IND Fulton Street Line. All of the stations opened on June 28, 1956 except Far Rockaway – Mott Avenue, which opened on January 16, 1958. The crossing across Jamaica Bay between Howard Beach – JFK Airport and Broad Channel is the longest distance between any two stations in the system.
The line charged a double fare south of Howard Beach which entailed the deposit of two tokens for those entering along the line or one token on exit for those arriving from other parts of the system. The unpopular double fare was abolished in 1975.
A significant service improvement on the Rockaway Line took effect in 1993, when direct late-night service between Far Rockaway (but not Rockaway Park) and Brooklyn and Manhattan began; previously, only shuttle service was provided during these hours, with a transfer at Euclid Avenue (the Rockaway Park branch remains a shuttle during late nights, with a transfer at Broad Channel).
In the late 1990s, outer tracks were installed to the north of Broad Channel. The track to the west of the original tracks extends slightly less than two miles, 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 approximately as long as a standard full length train. This track allows the shuttle to turn around significantly faster than it had been able to do before, when it was forced to relay at Howard Beach – JFK Airport or Euclid Avenue.
The segment of the line between Howard Beach and the Rockaway Peninsula suffered serious damage during Hurricane Sandy and is supposed to remain out of service for several months. On November 20, 2012, a free H shuttle train began service between Far Rockaway and Beach 90th Street.
Read more about this topic: IND Rockaway Line
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