Port Jefferson Branch

Port Jefferson Branch
DE30AC #400 enters Stony Brook station westbound from Port Jefferson in 2008.
Overview
Type	Commuter rail
System	Long Island Rail Road
Status	Operational
Locale	Nassau and Suffolk County, New York, USA
Termini	Floral Park Port Jefferson
Stations	10
Services	Port Jefferson Branch
Operation
Opened	1854-1873
Owner	Long Island Rail Road
Operator(s)	Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Electrification	750 V (DC) third rail (west of Huntington)
Route map Main Line (west) 26.8 Hicksville Main Line (east) Landia closed 1973 31.0 Syosset Nassau Suffolk County Zone 7 Zone 9 34.0 Cold Spring Harbor 36.6 Huntington end of electrification 39.4 Greenlawn Northport Branch abandoned 1985 42.5 Northport Zone 9 Zone 10 45.3 Kings Park KPPC Branch abandoned 1988 49.0 Smithtown 51.5 St. James Flowerfield closed 1958 55.1 Stony Brook Setauket closed 1980 59.4 Port Jefferson Miller Place closed 1938 Rocky Point closed 1938 Shoreham closed 1938 Wading River closed 1938 Distances shown in miles from Pennsylvania Station.

Distances shown in miles from Pennsylvania Station.

The Port Jefferson Branch is a rail line and service owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. The branch splits from the Main Line just east of Hicksville and runs northeast and east to Port Jefferson. Several stations on the Main Line west of Hicksville are served primarily by trains bound to/from the Port Jefferson branch, so LIRR maps and schedules for the public include that part of the Main Line in the "Port Jefferson Branch" service.

The Port Jefferson Branch is one of the busiest branches of the LIRR, with frequent electric service to Huntington where electrification ends, and diesel service east of Huntington continues to Port Jefferson. The MTA also refers to the line as the "Port Jefferson/Huntington Branch", "Huntington Branch" or the "Hicksville/Huntington Branch".

Port Jefferson Branch service (as distinct from the piece of railroad called the Port Jefferson Branch) extends east from Floral Park, where the Hempstead Branch separates from the Main Line. The line west of Huntington is electrified and double tracked. Electrification extends to a point east of Huntington before Greenlawn station on a layup track for electric trains. East of there the line is single track with passing sidings at Greenlawn, east of East Northport, Kings Park, Smithtown and Stony Brook allowing trains traveling in opposite directions to pass each other.

Electric trains on the branch operate between Penn Station and Huntington, providing local service on the branch; additional weekday service operates between Penn Station and Hicksville. Trains to the Ronkonkoma Branch provide supplemental service; these usually run express, stopping only at Mineola and/or Hicksville. Additional service to Mineola is provided by Oyster Bay Branch trains, and a handful of Montauk Branch trains also stop at Mineola and Hicksville on weekdays; one Montauk-bound train makes a stop at Hicksville overnight, though the vast majority of Montauk Branch trains that run on the branch do not stop. Service on the unnelectrified portion of the branch between Port Jefferson and Huntington is usually provided by diesel shuttles running between Port Jefferson and either Huntington or Hicksville, where customers transfer to electric trains for service to New York City. During rush hours, the branch sees extra service, including direct electric service to Atlantic Terminal, service to Penn Station that bypasses Jamaica, and direct service to Hunterspoint Avenue, Long Island City, or Penn Station from stations east of Huntington.