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HistoryImage:XSIRR44.JPG R44 or MUE-2 4-car rail set train to Tottenville
ElectrificationIn 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. Freight serviceFreight 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. Current statusToday, only the north-south Main Line is in 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; 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, though freight operations may resume earlier as New Jersey has already reactivated their portion of the freight line connection to the national rail network.
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. Modern freight serviceThe freight line connection from New Jersey to the Staten Island Railway has been restored as of late 2006, and is operated by the Morristown and Erie Railway under contract with the State of New Jersey. The bridge on the Arthur Kill waterway has also been restored, and at least one freight train has made the crossing in 2006 from New Jersey to Staten Island. Plans are to reactivate the North Shore of the Staten Island Railway to allow freight shipments to and from the recently revamped Howland Hook Marine Terminal. FRA oversightUnlike 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.[citation needed] 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. Nature of the lineIn 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. 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. FaresThe cash fare is $2. 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. 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). Operating stationsImage:NewDropstation.jpg New Dorp station Main line:
Ball Park is open only for events at the minor league park and is served either by trains that run from St. George as a shuttle, or trains that stop at every stop except St. George. Former stations on closed linesNorth Shore Branch (closed in 1953, abandoned)
South Beach Branch (closed in 1953, demolished)
Industries servicedNorth Shore: Proctor & Gamble, US Gypsum, Staten Island Ship Building, Car Float Travis Line: Gulf Oil Port, Con Edison coal plant Totenville Line: Nassau Smelting, Staten Island Advance, Pouch Terminal Future serviceThe Staten Island Advance is reporting that as of May 2006, 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. Source: Business leaders lobby lawmakers for transit funds See also
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