Babylon station

40°42′02″N 73°19′27″W / 40.700614°N 73.32421°W / 40.700614; -73.32421Owned byLong Island Rail RoadLine(s)Montauk BranchPlatforms2 island platformsTracks3Connections Suffolk County Transit: 2, 3, 5, 10, 15 (15 summer only)
Adirondack TrailwaysConstructionParkingYes (village permit and metered)Bicycle facilitiesYesAccessibleYesOther informationFare zone9HistoryOpenedOctober 28, 1867 (SSRRLI)^[1]Rebuilt1881, 1964ElectrifiedMay 21, 1925
750 V (DC) third railPrevious namesSeaside (July 1868–1869)^[1]Passengers2012—201413,366^[2]Rank7 of 125 Services

Preceding station	Long Island Rail Road			Following station
Jamaica toward Penn Station or Long Island City		Montauk Branch		Bay Shore toward Montauk
Hicksville limited service toward Penn Station or Long Island City
Lindenhurst toward Penn Station, Grand Central or Atlantic Terminal		Babylon Branch		Terminus

Former services
Preceding station Long Island Rail Road Following station Lindenhurst toward Long Island City Montauk Division Bay Shore toward Montauk South Farmingdale toward Bethpage Central Branch Terminus

The Babylon station is a station on the Long Island Rail Road in the village of Babylon, New York at Railroad Avenue west of Deer Park Avenue (Suffolk CR 34). It is on the Montauk Branch and is the eastern terminus of the Babylon Branch service. To the west is the junction (Belmont Junction) with the Central Branch, which heads northwest to join the Main Line at Bethpage Interlocking southeast of the Bethpage station. Babylon station is elevated with two island platforms and is wheelchair accessible through elevator access. The electrified portion of the Montauk Branch ends east of the station.

History

Babylon station originally opened as a South Side Railroad of Long Island depot on October 28, 1867. It was briefly renamed Seaside station in the summer of 1868, but resumed its original name of Babylon station in 1869. The Central Railroad of Long Island had once planned an extension to the Great South Bay and Fire Island which was never built, and a horse car and later trolley line was provided by the Babylon Rail Road company as a substitute.^[3] The CRRLI abandoned their own depot in 1874, and began to share it with SSRLI. From that point on the original SSRLI depot contained the name "Babylon & Fire Island" posted on one side.^[4] The second depot opened on July 2, 1881, and contained three tracks with two low-level side platforms and two high island platforms, as well as a pedestrian bridge and a REA Express freight house.^[5] Electrification came to the station in May 1925. The station became the terminus of the newly established Babylon Branch. It was razed in 1963 as part of the grade elimination project that was taking place along the entire Babylon Branch during the post-war era.^[6] The new elevated third station opened on September 9, 1964.

East of the station, a train washing canopy existed in West Islip until 2005.^[7][8] In June 2010, the Long Island Rail Road broke ground on a new environmentally friendly train wash canopy, since Ronkonkoma station had the only train wash on the east end. This new train wash can recycle water using filters and is capable of washing up to 180 electric multiple unit cars a day.

As budgeted in the 2008–2013 Capital Plan, station rehabilitation over the next five years will include the demolition of the existing platforms and design and construction of a new platform as well as replacement of platform waiting rooms, escalators, and elevators. The project is projected to cost $39 million and will replace infrastructure that has existed since 1964.^{[9][needs update]}

Station layout

The station has two 12-car-long high-level island platforms.

P Platform level	Track 1	←      Babylon Branch toward Grand Central Madison, Atlantic Terminal, or Penn Station (Lindenhurst) ←      Montauk Branch toward Long Island City or Penn Station (Hicksville or Jamaica)
	Platform A, island platform
	Track 2	←      Babylon Branch toward Grand Central Madison, Atlantic Terminal, or Penn Station (Lindenhurst) ←      Montauk Branch toward Long Island City or Penn Station (Hicksville or Jamaica)
	Platform B, island platform
	Track 3	←      Montauk Branch toward Patchogue, Speonk, or Montauk (Bay Shore) → ←      Babylon Branch termination track →
G	Ground level	Exit/entrance, parking, buses

References

External links

City Terminal Zone

Main Line (west)	Penn Station Grand Central Madison Long Island City Hunterspoint Avenue Sunnyside Woodside Winfield Junction Grand Street Rego Park Forest Hills Hopedale Kew Gardens Westbridge Dunton Jamaica
Atlantic Branch (west)	Atlantic Terminal Nostrand Avenue East New York Woodhaven Woodhaven Junction Clarenceville Morris Park/Morris Grove/Boland's Landing Jamaica

Atlantic Branch (east)Far Rockaway BranchHempstead BranchLong Beach BranchMontauk Branch

Lower Montauk	Long Island City Penny Bridge Laurel Hill Haberman Maspeth Fresh Pond Glendale Ridgewood Richmond Hill Shops Dunton Jamaica
Babylon Branch	Union Hall Street Canal Street Hillside St. Albans Springfield Gardens Rosedale Valley Stream Lynbrook Rockville Centre Baldwin Freeport Merrick Bellmore Wantagh Seaford Massapequa Massapequa Park Unqua Amityville Copiague Belmont Junction Lindenhurst Babylon
Montauk (east)	Bay Shore Islip Centre Islip Club House Great River Oakdale Sayville Bayport Blue Point Patchogue East Patchogue Hagerman Bellport Brookhaven Mastic–Shirley Mastic Center Moriches East Moriches Eastport Speonk Westhampton Quogue East Quogue Hampton Bays Canoe Place Suffolk Downs Shinnecock Hills Southampton College Southampton Water Mill Bridgehampton Wainscott East Hampton Amagansett Napeague Beach Fanny Bartlett Promised Land Montauk

Oyster Bay BranchPt. Jefferson BranchPt. Washington BranchMain Line (east) /
Ronkonkoma Branch /
Greenport Branch

Main Line (east)	Union Hall Street Canal Street Hillside Hillside Facility Rockaway Junction Willow Tree Hollis Bellaire Queens Village Elmont-UBS Arena Floral Park New Hyde Park Merillon Avenue Mineola Carle Place Westbury New Cassel Hicksville Grumman Bethpage Bethpage Junction
Ronkonkoma Branch	Farmingdale Republic Pinelawn Wyandanch Edgewood Deer Park Pilgrim State Hospital Thompson Pineaire Brentwood Suffolk Central Islip Central Islip State Hospital Nichols Road Lakeland Ronkonkoma
Greenport Branch	Hermanville Holbrook Holtsville Medford Bartlett's Fire Place Yaphank East Yaphank Carman's River Upton Road Camp Upton Wampmissic Manorville Calverton Riverhead Aquebogue Jamesport Laurel Mattituck Cutchogue Peconic Southold Greenport

Belmont Park BranchW. Hempstead Branch