Addressing Both LIRR And CPOC Committees - But The Moderator Doesn't Seem To Know It

The Rockaway Beach Branch is the only way of addressing the LIRR's capacity problems west of Jamaica. The problems are scheduled to make their first big appearance February 27 when Grand Central Madison's official grand opening occurs, with full scheduling to follow.

The need to serve TWO stations in Manhattan, with essentially TWICE as many trains (in order to provide decent scheduling at both the big stations) means track capacity in Queens and parts of Long Island will be taxed to the limit, and the type of frequencies passengers have come to expect become a thing of the past. There simply isn't enough track capacity - or trains - to go around.

The solution is to get a minimum of six continuous tracks west of Jamaica running into Manhattan - instead of the current four. And the way to do that is to run trains over the Montauk Branch west of Jamaica (stopping at the beautifully designed Richmond Hill station) then onto the Rockaway Beach Branch (with a stop at Glendale Junction, AKA Parkside) and then onto the main line - which has provision for six tracks going west form it's junction with the Rockaway Beach Branch.

Add to that the two additional tracks to Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn - which should eventually be extended to Lower Manhattan - and you have sufficient capacity for the future. But if the planned bridge at Hall Interlocking west of Jamaica gets built it will make that impossible. And the Rockaway Beach Branch can rot for another 60 years.