Mets–Willets Point (LIRR station)

Mets–Willets Point (formerly Shea Stadium) is a seasonal-use station on the Long Island Rail Road's Port Washington Branch, located near Roosevelt Avenue in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, in the New York City borough of Queens.

The station is used only during New York Mets home games at Citi Field (Shea Stadium prior to 2009) for the New York Mets, during the U.S. Open tennis tournament at the USTA National Tennis Center, and in emergencies. Mets–Willets Point is not part of CityTicket, and fares are collected before boarding when the station is in use.

Following the 2009 closure and demolition of Shea Stadium, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority renamed the station to Mets–Willets Point, matching the name of the adjoining subway station and omitting the corporate-sponsored name associated with the current stadium. The MTA was unsuccessful in achieving a similar naming rights deal and would not post the name for free.[2]

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

[edit] History
The station opened in time for the 1939 New York World's Fair. The station included a modernistic structure above the tracks and could accommodate up to 18,000 passengers per hour.[3] Between 1946 and 1952, the station was known as United Nations station. The 1939 World's Fair ramp was expanded for the 1964 New York World's Fair to connect the Flushing Meadows–Corona Park to Shea Stadium, which opened that same year (though it was not part of the World's Fair).

As of 2003, a portion of track from the Whitestone Line circa 1864 was still visible next to the track heading Westbound. There were two main platforms (one with an Orange overhang, one with a Blue), but only the Orange one is still used as the Blue one is gated off, but does have a freight train stop there on that track once in a while.

Fans streaming into the station following the conclusion of a September 2008 Mets game at Shea.==[edit] Platform and track configuration== The Port Washington Branch has six tracks at this station. This station has three high-level island platforms. The north platform, adjacent to Tracks 1 and 2, the two main tracks, is eight cars long. The center platform, adjacent to Tracks 3 and 4, is also eight cars long. The south platform, adjacent to Tracks 5 and 6, is six cars long. Only the north platform is in current use. The stairwells leading to the other platforms are blocked off. The platforms are decorated in Mets colors.

[edit] Bus & Rail Connections
New York City Subway MTA New York City Bus
 * Mets – Willets Point station on the IRT Flushing Line (7 <7> trains)
 * Q48: LaGuardia Airport -> Flushing – Main Street Subway Station.