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Staten Island Railway
Info
Type	Rapid transit
Status	Operational
Locale	Staten Island, New York
Terminals	Tottenville (south) St. George (north)
No. of stations	23
Operation
Opened	1860 (under the Baltimore & Ohio banner
Operator(s)	New York City Transit Authority
Technical
Line length	14 mi (22 km)
Gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8½ in) (standard gauge)
Electrification	Third rail

The Staten Island Railway (aka SIR, and formerly known as SIRT) is a rapid transit line operating in the Borough of Staten Island, New York City, USA. It is considered a standard railroad line, but is currently disconnected from the national railway system.^{[dubious – discuss]} SIR operates with modified R44 New York City subway cars^[1] but there are no links between the line and the subway system proper. The current SIR line has been completely grade-separated from intersecting roads since 1966.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Electrification 1.2 Freight service 1.3 MTA 2 Current status 2.1 Restored freight service 3 FRA oversight 4 Nature of the line 5 Fares 6 Stations 7 Former stations on closed lines 8 Industries serviced 9 Future service 10 See also 11 References 12 External links

The first line of what is now the Staten Island Railway opened in 1860 to Tottenville, the current southern terminus. If the SIR were considered part of the subway, this would be the oldest continually operated subway system right-of-way in New York City. In common with the BMT lines to Coney Island, the SIR started as a normal passenger and freight railroad line.^{[citation needed]}

In 1925 its three passenger branches were electrified and operated with new subway-type equipment. The lines radiated from the St. George ferry terminal to Arlington on Staten Island's north shore, to South Beach on the Narrows, and to Tottenville at the extreme southern end of Staten Island.^{[citation needed]}

Freight service with steam (later diesel) power continued on all branches, and on freight only operations on Staten Island and on the North Shore Branch as far as Cranford Junction in New Jersey via the Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge that spans the Arthur Kill immediately north of the Goethals Bridge; and a South Beach Branch that was effectively a spur of the main line. The now-defunct North Shore Branch was linked with the nationwide rail network; on May 11, 1943, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill used it en route to a meeting with President Franklin D. Roosevelt in Washington, D.C. after his ship had landed in Tompkinsville. On October 21, 1957, a young Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip rode a special train from Washington, D.C. along the North Shore Branch to Stapleton to start their royal visit to New York City. Freight service was halted between 1991 and 2007.^{[citation needed]}

In 1971 the former Staten Island Rapid Transit Railway Company was acquired from its parent Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and became an MTA subsidiary for purposes of operation and maintenance; in March, 1973, new R44 cars — the same as the newest cars then in use on the subway lines in the other boroughs — were pressed into service on the Staten Island line, replacing the rolling stock that had been inherited from the Baltimore and Ohio days and had been in use since 1925 (the R44 cars are still in service as of 2007).^{[citation needed]}

In 1994, as part of a public image campaign of the MTA, the various operating agencies of the MTA were given "popular names" at which time the public face of SIRTOA became MTA Staten Island Railway, which name is used on trains, stations, timetables and other public presentments.^{[citation needed]}

Officially the Staten Island Rapid Transit Operating Authority (SIRTOA), and publicly styled MTA Staten Island Railway, the SIR is a subsidiary of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). SIRTOA operates and maintains the rail line on Staten Island pursuant to a lease and operating agreement with the City of New York. The MTA would like to effect a corporate merger of the SIR with the New York City Transit Authority's subway division to form MTA Subways,^[2] but necessary approval by the New York State Legislature has been stalled since 2003.

Today, only the north-south Main Line is in passenger service. The last passenger trains on both the North Shore and South Beach Branches ran on March 31, 1953 (the right-of-way of the South Beach Branch was eventually de-mapped and the tracks have been removed), and the North Shore Branch saw its last freight train in 1990, although the tracks still exist in some places. The terminal station at St. George provides a direct connection to the Staten Island Ferry. In 2001, a small section of the North Shore branch (a few hundred feet) was reopened to serve the new Richmond County Bank Ballpark, home of the Staten Island Yankees minor-league baseball team; plans to reopen the remainder of the branch, to both freight and passenger service, are being studied, with one plan calling for the line to resume full operations between St. George and Port Ivory by 2015.^{[citation needed]}

The freight line connection from New Jersey to the Staten Island Railway was restored in late 2006, and is operated by the Morristown and Erie Railway under contract with the State of New Jersey. The Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge which transports trains from Staten Island to New Jersey over the Arthur Kill waterway was renovated in 2005 and 2006 and began regular service on April 2, 2007, 16 years after the bridge closed. A portion of the North Shore of the Staten Island Railway was rehabilitated and a new spur to Fresh Kills was constructed. Full service on the line began on April 2, 2007,^[3] and Mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg officially commemorated the reactivation on April 17, 2007.^[4] On behalf of the City of New York, the New York City Economic Development Corporation formed an agreement with CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern Railway, and Conrail to provide service over the reactivated line to haul waste from the Staten Island Transfer Station and ship freight from the New York Container Terminal (formerly known as Howland Hook Container Terminal) and other industrial businesses.

Unlike the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA), SIRTOA is subject to rules of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) but operates under a waiver which permits it to exempt itself from certain rules of equipment and operation usually required by the FRA. This FRA status complicates any plan for combined freight and passenger operation, since any operation of freight equipment or connection to the national railroad system would threaten its waiver.^{[citations needed]}

In general appearance, the current operating line of SIR looks somewhat like an outdoor line of the New York City Subway. Since the 1960s it has been grade separated from all roads, but it runs more or less at street level for a brief stretch north of Clifton, between the Grasmere and Old Town stations west of the Academy of St. Dorothy, a Roman Catholic elementary school, and from south of the Pleasant Plains station to Tottenville, the end of the line. It uses NYC Transit-standard 660 V DC third rail power. Its equipment is specially modified subway vehicles, purchased at the same time as nearly-identical cars for NYCT. Heavy maintenance of the equipment is performed at the NYCT's Clifton Shops. Any work that can't be done at Clifton requires the cars be trucked over the Verrazano to the Coney Island shops of the subway.^{[citation needed]}

The right-of-way also includes elevated, embankment and open-cut portions, and a tunnel near St. George.

Over the years there have been several proposals for connecting the SIR with the subway system (including tunnels and a possible line along the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge), but various economic, political, and engineering difficulties have prevented this from happening.^{[citations needed]}

The cash fare is US$2.00. Fares are paid on entry and exit only at St. George and Ball Park (and in the case of the latter, only on trains to Tottenville, not St. George). Rides not originating or terminating at St. George or Ball Park are free. Prior to the 1997 introduction of "1 fare zones" that came along with free transfers from the SIR to the subway system and MTA buses by using the MetroCard, fares were collected by the conductors on the trains for passengers boarding at stops other than St. George.^{[citation needed]}

Passengers often avoid paying the fare by exiting at Tompkinsville, and taking a short walk to the St. George ferry terminal. The MTA is considering installing high entrance/exit turnstiles (HEETs) at Tompkinsville. Some St. George-bound trains skip Tompkinsville to prevent people from exiting there.^{[citation needed]}

Fare is also payable by MetroCard. Since this card enables free transfers for a continuing ride on the subway and bus systems, for many more riders there is effectively no fare at all for riding SIR. Because of this, the SIR's farebox recovery ratio in 2001 was 0.16—that is, for every dollar of expense, 16 cents was recovered in fares, the lowest ratio of MTA agencies (part of the reason the MTA wishes to merge the SIR with the subway proper is to simplify the accounting and subsidization of what is essentially a single line).^{[citation needed]}

Station service legend
	Stops all times
Time period details

	Stations		Connections
Staten Island
	RCB Ballpark
	St. George		Staten Island Ferry
	Tompkinsville
	Stapleton
	Clifton*
	Grasmere
	Old Town
	Dongan Hills
	Jefferson Avenue
	Grant City
	New Dorp
	Oakwood Heights
	Bay Terrace
	Great Kills
	Eltingville
	Annadale
	Huguenot
	Prince's Bay
	Pleasant Plains
	Richmond Valley*
	Nassau
	Atlantic*
	Tottenville

* Passengers may board/alight trains:

At Clifton using the first three cars (St. George-bound trains only; all cars in Tottenville direction), at Richmond Valley using the first three cars only in both directions, and at Atlantic using the last car only in both directions.

North Shore Branch (closed at midnight on tuesday March 31, 1953) (abandoned) (6.1 miles)^{[citation needed]}

• St. George (0.0)
• RCB Ballpark (Station, which serves Richmond County Bank Ballpark and utilizes a short portion of the abandoned north shore ROW. It was opened in 2001 and currently in service during playing season.) (0.1)
• New Brighton- Located at the northerly end of Jersey St. (0.7)
• Sailors Snug Harbor- Located at Sailors Snug Harbor and Richmond Terrace (1.3)
• Livingston - Located at Bard Avenue and Richmond Terrace (1.8)
• West Brighton (2.4)
• Port Richmond- Located at Park Avenue and Church Street (3.0)
• Tower Hill- Located between Treadwell and Sharpe Avenues (3.4)
• Elm Park - Located at Morningstar Road (3.9)
• Lake Avenue - Located at Lake Avenue (4.3)
• Mariners Harbor - Located at Van Pelt Avenue (4.6)
• Harbor Road - Located at Harbor Road (4.9)
• Arlington - Located at South Avenue (5.2)
• Port Ivory (formerly Milliken -- named for the Port Ivory manufacturing plant of Procter & Gamble, where Ivory Soap was once made) (6.1)

South Beach Branch (closed at midnight tuesday March 31, 1953) (demolished) (4.4 miles)^{[citation needed]}

• Rosebank - Located at Virginia Ave. and Tilson Pl. (2.2)
• Belair Road - Located near Belair Rd and Seth Loop. (2.5)
• Fort Wadsworth - Located below street grade near West corner of Tompkins Ave and Lyman Ave, also close to Fingerboard Rd. (Station was replaced by residential housing, although adjacent power station is still below grade like the original tracks.) (2.7)
• Arrochar - Located at Major Ave. (3.1)
• Cedar Avenue - Located at Cedar and Railroad Avenues (3.8)
• South Beach - Located at Sand Lane. (4.1)
• Wentworth Avenue - Located in weeded area at the now abandoned section of Wentworth Avenue (4.4)

North Shore: Procter & Gamble, US Gypsum, Staten Island Ship Building, Car Float

Travis Line: Gulf Oil Port, Con Edison coal plant

Tottenville Line: Nassau Smelting, Staten Island Advance, Pouch Terminal

The Staten Island Advance reported in May 2006 that Staten Island business and political leaders are looking to restore service on the North Shore Branch. They are seeking approval of $4 million in federal funding for a detailed feasibility study, to revive the North Shore line as a commuter line ending at the St. George Ferry Terminal. Alternatively, there has been talk of adding light rail service to Staten Island.

Completion of the study is necessary to qualify the project for the estimated $360 million it requires to develop the 5.1-mile line. A preliminary study found that ridership could hit 15,000 daily.^[5]

• List of rapid transit systems
• Cross-Harbor Rail Tunnel

• Staten Island Railway
• History of SIRT
• nycsubway.org - SIRT: Staten Island Rapid Transit
• TrainsAreFun.com - Staten Island Rapid Transit

v • d • e Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York)
Bus	NYC Transit Department of Buses / MaBSTOA • Long Island Bus • MTA Bus
Heavy rail	New York City Subway • Staten Island Railway
Commuter rail	Long Island Rail Road • Metro-North Railroad
Roads	Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (d/b/a MTA Bridges and Tunnels)
Enforcement	MTA Police
Fleet	New York City Subway • New York City Transit Bus and MTA Bus
Other	New York City subway and bus fare • MetroCard • New York City Transit Authority • History of the New York City Subway • New York City Transit Police

v • d • e New York City Subway
Services	1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • A • B • C • D • E • F • G • J • L • M • N • Q • R • V • W • Z
Shuttles (S)	42nd Street • Franklin Avenue • Rockaway Park
Unused or defunct	8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • BB • CC • DD • EE (8 Avenue) • EE (Broadway) • GG • H • HH (Court Street) • HH (Rockaway Park) • JJ • K (Broadway) • K (8 Avenue) • KK • LL • MJ • NX • P • QB • QJ • QT • RJ • RR • T • TT • U • X • Y • JFK Express BMT: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 Shuttles (S/SS): 63rd Street • Bowling Green • Culver • Grand Street • Other
Capital Construction	7 Subway Extension • Fulton Street Transit Center • Second Avenue Subway
Divisions	A Division (IRT) • B Division (BMT • IND)
Lists	Inter-division connections • Lines • Services • Stations • Terminals • Transfers • Yards
Miscellaneous	Chaining • History • Fares • MetroCard • Nomenclature • Rolling stock • Proposed expansion (1929-1940)
Other NYC transit	Rail: AirTrain JFK • Amtrak • LIRR • Metro-North • New Jersey Transit • PATH • Staten Island Railway Other: New Jersey Transit (Bus) • MTA Bus • MTA New York City Bus • Roosevelt Island Tramway

v • d • e Currently operating heavy rail rapid transit systems in the United States
MBTA (Blue, Orange, and Red Lines) · MTA (New York City Subway and Staten Island Railway) · PATH · SEPTA (Market–Frankford and Broad Street Lines) · PATCO Speedline · MTA Maryland (Metro Subway) · WMATA (Metrorail) · MARTA · Miami-Dade Transit (Miami Metrorail) · Tren Urbano · RTA Rapid Transit (Red Line) · CTA (Chicago 'L') · BART · LACMTA (Metro Purple and Metro Red Lines)