Rockville Centre station

Rockville Centre
The main entrance of Rockville Centre station along Front Street
General information
Location	North Village Avenue & Front Street Rockville Centre, New York
Coordinates	40°39′30″N 73°38′48″W / 40.6583°N 73.6466°W / 40.6583; -73.6466
Owned by	Long Island Rail Road
Line(s)	Montauk Branch
Distance	19.3 mi (31.1 km) from Long Island City[1]
Platforms	1 island platform
Tracks	2
Connections	Nassau Inter-County Express: n4, n15, n16, n31x, Mercy Medical Community Shuttle
Construction
Parking	Yes
Bicycle facilities	Yes
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Fare zone	7
History
Opened	1867; 157 years ago (1867) (SSRRLI)
Rebuilt	1881, 1901, 1950
Electrified	May 20, 1925 750 V (DC) third rail
Passengers
2012—2014	7,530[2]
Rank	12 of 125
Services
Preceding station Long Island Rail Road Following station Lynbrook toward Penn Station, Grand Central or Atlantic Terminal Babylon Branch Baldwin toward Babylon      Montauk Branch does not stop here
Former services Preceding station Long Island Rail Road Following station Lynbrook toward Long Island City Montauk Division Baldwin toward Montauk
Location

The Rockville Centre station is a station along the Babylon Branch of the Long Island Rail Road. It is officially at North Village Avenue and Front Street north of Sunrise Highway in Rockville Centre, New York, but the station property spreads west to North Center Avenue and east to North Park Avenue. Parking is available throughout the Village of Rockville Centre, near the station for those with residential and non-residential permits. The station is east of the former Rockville Centre Bus Depot. The station is 21.1 miles (34.0 km) from Penn Station.^[3]

A sign on the station's platform

The exposed, western end of the station's platform

Rockville Centre station was originally built by the South Side Railroad of Long Island on September 23, 1867 and remodeled in July 1881.^[4]: 25 The station was rebuilt in 1901; the new depot opened on October 14 of that year.^[5] The original station was moved to a private location that year and razed in 2004.^[6]

The second station was razed in 1949, as the first major phase of a project to elevate the Babylon Branch and eliminate its level crossings was completed. A temporary station was built southeast of the former location and began operation on April 19, 1949.^[7]

Rockville Centre station was the site of a major railroad accident on February 17, 1950 that resulted in the deaths of 32 people, and serious injury of over 100 people.^[8] This occurred nine months before a similar accident in Kew Gardens, Queens that killed 79 people, and injured hundreds more. The current elevated structure was opened on July 17–18, 1950.^[9]

On August 2, 1982, work began on a $1.2 million project to extend the platform from 800 to 1,000 feet (240 to 300 m) to accommodate 12-car trains. The concrete platform at the station would be completely replaced.^[10] The project was to be done in multiple phases, and was scheduled to be completed in October 1983.^[11] As part of the project, the bathrooms and waiting room at the station were repainted, the stairway to the west of the lower level waiting room was replaced, and a new stairway would be built at the far western end of the platform. In addition, an elevator was to be constructed at the station. In August 1983, the LIRR awarded the contract to construct the new stairway. A dedication ceremony for the project took place on January 25, 1984. At that time, the elevator was slated to be completed in spring 1984.^[12][13]

In March 1985, the contract for the new stairway was cancelled since the manufacturer did not provide any design drawings. The contract was rebid and was awarded again in August 1985, with an estimated cost of $30,000. At the same time, the only existing staircase at the western end of the station had been removed, and would not be replaced until October 1985. Since the LIRR was unable to reduce the six-to-seven-month time period needed to fabricated the stairs, it was not able to get them installed by November 1985, and set a new completion date of February 1, 1986. In January 1986, work began on the installation of the new western stairway, but stopped after two days as the LIRR said the manufacturer made measurement mistakes. Work resumed later that month, and was expected to be completed by the end of the month.^[13]

The station has one 12-car-long high-level island platform between the two tracks.

Though some scenes from the 2004 movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind took place at Rockville Centre station, they were actually shot at Mount Vernon East station on the Metro-North Railroad New Haven Line.^[14]

Media related to Rockville Centre (LIRR station) at Wikimedia Commons

• Rockville Centre – LIRR
• Rockville Centre LIRR timetable
• ROCKY Interlocking (The LIRR Today)
• Rockville Centre Station Photo; March 11, 2007 (Unofficial LIRR History Website)^[usurped]
• Rockville Centre Grade Project (TrainsAreFun.com)
• Village Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Station House from Google Maps Street View
• Park Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View