IND Rockaway Line

IND Rockaway Line
The A trains and Rockaway Park Shuttle serve the IND Rockaway Line.
Overview
Type	Rapid transit
System	New York City Subway
Termini	Aqueduct Racetrack Rockaway Park–Beach 116th Street (Rockaway Park Branch) Far Rockaway–Mott Avenue (Far Rockaway Branch)
Stations	14
Daily ridership	32,264 2,821 35,085
Operation
Opened	1956-1958
Owner	City of New York
Operator(s)	New York City Transit Authority
Character	Elevated/Surface
Technical
Number of tracks	2-4
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Electrification	Direct Current traction

The IND Rockaway Line is a rapid transit line of the IND Division of the New York City Subway, operating in Queens. It branches from the IND Fulton Street Line at Rockaway Boulevard, extending over the Jamaica Bay, into the Rockaways. The A train serves the line on the Far Rockaway–Mott Avenue branch and north of Hammels Wye. The Rockaway Park Shuttle runs between Broad Channel and Rockaway Park–Beach 116th Street. Five rush hour A trains provide service between Rockaway Park and Manhattan in the peak direction.

The north end of the Rockaway Line is a junction with the IND Fulton Street Line at Rockaway Boulevard. The line starts out as tracks F3 and F4 and descend from an elevated structure to the surface. Then the right-of-way widens to be four tracks wide. Trains in service going south then diverge from F3, and go onto F1. Trains coming from the Rockaways merge from track F2 onto track F4. South of this point, track F4 is out of service, and track F3 can only be used by work trains as it is de-energized. The line then continues as a four track line, and south of Howard Beach, the tracks merge into two tracks. The line then passes over Jamaica Bay just to the east of Cross Bay Boulevard, on its own private right-of-way. Then the line passes over the North Channel Swing Bridge, which is no longer able to be moved. The crossing across Jamaica Bay between Howard Beach and Broad Channel is the longest distance between any two stations in the system.