Flushing Main Street (LIRR station)

Flushing Main Street is a station on the Port Washington Branch of the Long Island Rail Road, serving the neighborhood of Flushing, Queens. The station is part of CityTicket, and is in Zone 3. The station is located at Main Street and 41st Avenue, off Kissena Boulevard and is 9.5 miles (15.3 km) from Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan. Parking is provided at a municipal lot on 41st Avenue.

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Contents
[hide]*1 History
 * 2 Platform and track configuration
 * 3 Bus & Rail Connections
 * 4 Gallery
 * 5 References
 * 6 External links
 * }

[edit] History
Flushing Main Street Station was originally built in December 1853 by the New York and Flushing Railroad, but not opened until June 26, 1854. The station was named after both the Flushing and Main Street, in order to distinguish itself from the former Flushing Bridge Street station that ran along the abandoned Whitestone Branch of the Long Island Rail Road. Flushing Main Street would serve as the terminus of the NY&F until October 30, 1864 when a subsidiary known as the North Shore Railroad extended it out to Great Neck, and it was burned in order to prepare for a second station that was built between January and February 1865. It was razed again in 1870 and a third station was built between October and November 1870. Throughout the 1870's Flushing Main Street and the rest of the line was acquired by the Flushing and North Side Railroad, which would then be merged with the Central Railroad of Long Island to form the Flushing, North Shore and Central Railroad, and finally become part of the Port Washington Branch of the Long Island Rail Road. Shortly after the line was electrified on October 22, 1912, the station was abandoned on November 11, 1912, as part of an effort by the Long Island Rail Road to bring the Port Washington Branch above and below street level depending on the location. In Flushing, the station was elevated along with the rest of the tracks on October 4, 1913. Until that point, the line used to run at grade and even went through a tunnel under a girls' school just east of where the Main Street overpass stands today. The tunnel and the school were torn down to build the overpass and the open cut the line now runs through. In 1958, the elevated track level building was razed and replaced with a street level ticket office. Sheltered platforms exist on both sides of the tracks in the former station's place, and the sidewalks beneath the bridge serve as local businesses.

[edit] Platform and track configuration
This station has two high-level side platforms each 10 cars long. The north platform, adjacent to Track 1, is generally used by westbound or Manhattan-bound trains. The south platform, adjacent to Track 2, is generally used by eastbound or Nassau County-bound trains. The Port Washington Branch has two tracks at this location.

[edit] Bus & Rail Connections
New York City Subway NYCT Bus MTA Bus MTA Long Island Bus
 * Flushing – Main Street station on the IRT Flushing Line (7 <7> trains)
 * Q12: Flushing-Main Street Subway Station-Little Neck.
 * Q13: Flushing-Main Street Subway Station-Fort Totten.
 * Q14: Flushing-Main Street Subway Station-Whitestone.
 * Q15: Flushing-Main Street Subway Station-Beechhurst.
 * Q16: Flushing-Main Street Subway Station-Fort Totten.
 * Q17: Jamaica-Flushing-Main Street Subway Station.
 * Q20: Jamaica-College Point.
 * Q26: Flushing-Main Street Subway Station-Fresh Meadows.
 * Q27: Flushing-Main Street Subway Station-Cambria Heights.
 * Q28: Flushing-Main Street Subway Station-Bay Terrace.
 * Q44: Jamaica-Bronx Zoo.
 * Q48: LaGuardia Airport-Flushing-Main Street Subway Station.
 * Q58: to Myrtle-Wyckoff Avenue Subway Station.
 * Q25: Sutphin Boulevard – Archer Avenue Subway Station-College Point.
 * Q34: Sutphin Boulevard–Archer Avenue Subway Station-Whitestone.
 * Q65: Sutphin Boulevard–Archer Avenue Subway Station-College Point.
 * Q66: to Queensborough Plaza Subway Station.
 * N20: to Hicksville.
 * N21: to Glen Cove.