| Babylon | ||||||||||||||||||
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 Suffolk County Transit's former S27 bus leaves Babylon station | ||||||||||||||||||
| General information | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Railroad Avenue & Deer Park Avenue Babylon, New York | |||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 40°42′02″N 73°19′27″W / 40.700614°N 73.32421°W / 40.700614; -73.32421 | |||||||||||||||||
| Owned by | Long Island Rail Road | |||||||||||||||||
| Line(s) | Montauk Branch | |||||||||||||||||
| Platforms | 2 island platforms | |||||||||||||||||
| Tracks | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| Connections |  Suffolk County Transit: 2, 3, 5, 10, 15 (15 summer only) Adirondack Trailways | |||||||||||||||||
| Construction | ||||||||||||||||||
| Parking | Yes (village permit and metered) | |||||||||||||||||
| Bicycle facilities | Yes | |||||||||||||||||
| Accessible | Yes | |||||||||||||||||
| Other information | ||||||||||||||||||
| Fare zone | 9 | |||||||||||||||||
| History | ||||||||||||||||||
| Opened | October 28, 1867 (SSRRLI) | |||||||||||||||||
| Rebuilt | 1881, 1964 | |||||||||||||||||
| Electrified | May 21, 1925 750 V (DC) third rail | |||||||||||||||||
| Previous names | Seaside (July 1868–1869) | |||||||||||||||||
| Passengers | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2012—2014 | 13,366 | |||||||||||||||||
| Rank | 7 of 125 | |||||||||||||||||
| Services | ||||||||||||||||||
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Babylon is a station on the Long Island Rail Road in the village of Babylon, New York at Railroad Avenue west of Deer Park Avenue (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.
The 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, at the Babylon Yard.
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. 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. 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.
Electrification came to the station in May 1925, at which time the station became the terminus of the newly established Babylon Branch. It was razed in 1963 as part of the grade crossing elimination project that was taking place along the entire Babylon Branch during the post-war era. The new, elevated third station opened on September 9, 1964.
East of the station, a train washing canopy existed in West Islip until 2005. In June 2010, the Long Island Rail Road broke ground on a new environmentally friendly train wash canopy, as at the time, the Mid-Suffolk Yard adjacent to the 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.
Station rehabilitation
A station rehabilitation budgeted in the 2008–2013 Capital Plan was to 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 was projected to cost $39 million and would replace infrastructure that has existed since 1964. The project was ultimately delayed.
Starting in September 2024, as part of the 2025-2029 plan, the station will have its eastern and western portions closed until May 2026. Additions include new canopies, escalators & elevators, and the replacement of bathrooms, stairs, platforms, and waiting rooms.
Station layout
The station has two 12-car-long high-level island platforms.
_-_March_2019.jpg)
| 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
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| Track 3 | ← Montauk Branch toward Patchogue, Speonk, or Montauk (Bay Shore) → ← Babylon Branch termination track → | |
| G | Ground level | Exit/entrance, parking, buses |
References
- ^ Vincent F. Seyfried, The Long Island Rail Road: A Comprehensive History, Part One: South Side R.R. of L.I., 1961
- "2012-2014 LIRR Origin and Destination Report : Volume I: Travel Behavior Among All LIRR Passengers" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. August 23, 2016. PDF pp. 15, 197. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 17, 2019. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
Data collection took place after the pretest determinations, starting in September 2012 and concluding in May 2014. .... 2012-2014 LIRR OD COUNTS: WEEKDAY East/West Total By Station in Numerical Order
- "BY RAIL TO FIRE ISLAND". arrts-arrchives.com.
- "SSRR BABYLON STATION". arrts-arrchives.com.
- "LIRR Babylon". trainsarefun.com.
- ^ Morrison, David D.; Pakaluk, Valerie (2003). Long Island Rail Road Stations. Images of Rail. Chicago: Arcadia Publishing. pp. 90–91. ISBN 0-7385-1180-3. Retrieved November 25, 2011.
- "Compact NYSDOT Highway Record Plans: Beginning 1900". State of New York. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
- Two mid-1980s views of West Islip...
- ...train wash racks
- 2008-2013 Capital Plan. Page 69
- ^ Castillo, Alfonso A. (September 21, 2024). "$6B for LIRR in MTA plan: Work affects Babylon stop". Newsday (Print newspaper). Vol. 85, no. 19. Long Island. pp. A3.
External links
- Babylon – LIRR
- Babylon LIRR timetable
- The Unofficial LIRR History Website
- BABYLON Interlocking (The LIRR Today)
- Station from Google Maps Street View
- Platforms from Google Maps Street View
- Waiting Room from Google Maps Street View
