The Newly Renovated New Hyde Park LIRR Station Has Just Opened, Bringing The MTA One Step Closer To Completing The LIRR Third Rail Project

By Joseph Morales

The newly renovated New Hyde Park Station on the LIRR has just opened after about 2 years of construction as part of the $2.5 billion third track project. The third track project is a project that will add an additional track to the 9.8 mile main line corridor between Floral Park and Hicksville in Nassau County in order to increase service reliability and increase capacity which is especially important as the East Side Access project, which will bring LIRR trains to Grand Central Madison is completed. While the project is not expected to be completed in its entirety until around the end of this year, New Hyde Park riders and travelers will begin reaping the benefits of the renovated station immediately, including those who do not even ride the train.

The $247 million enhancements include a new platform that is long enough to accommodate a 12 car train that includes canopies, furnishings as well as new shelters, benches and signage. Also found in the new station are CCTV security cameras, Wi-Fi/USB charging stations and digital information displays. In addition to the new features is a new art piece called Forestation Syncopation by Sandy Litchfield. Designed with an emphasis on color and light, the artwork combines watercolor complemented by linear details that define intersecting edges. The original piece was created using a hybrid process of paint, hand drawing and digital technologies that was then fabricated into 36 laminated glass panels by Mayer of Munich. This magnificent piece of art truly seeks to blend the tree-lined streets of New Hyde Park to the urban townscape surrounding the station.

To help people get two and from the station, three ramps and a pedestrian overpass were constructed at New Hyde Park Road , two ramps to each platform at the new South 12th St underpass and 7 new ADA-accessible parking spaces were added. The number of total ramps at the station was doubled from two to four, creating two access points between platforms and two sidewalks. The station also includes new bike racks and a plaza with green space at Third Avenue east of Baer Place, though this phase of the project is not open just yet.*

Outside of the station itself, the railroad crossings at New Hyde Park Road, South 12th St and Covert Avenue have been eliminated. According to MTA figures, the gates were in the down position anywhere between 32 to 42 percent during the AM and PM peak periods, delaying car travel and causing congestion on the roadways. There are now new overpasses so that trains can travel directly over New Hyde Park Rd and Covert Ave. While cars can no longer cross teh railroad tracks via South 12th St, the new ADA-accessible pedestrian underpass makes it so that cars can park on either side and have to cross the tracks on foot. These are three of the eight grade crossings that have been eliminated as a result of the third rail project thus far. In addition to making car travel easier, the removal of these crossings will save lives as six fatal collisions have occurred at grade crossing locations along the LIRR Main Line between 2007 and 2017.

Given all the upgrades that have been made to the 177 year old station, it is no surprise that Catherine Rinaldi, Interim President of the Long Island Rail Road and President of the Metro-North Railroad had this to say about the station renovation and the Third Track Project during a press conference on 6/15/22, “One of the main ideas of the Third Track project was to create a better customer experience for LIRR riders and this new station is another part of it. Riders will be greeted by larger platforms, comfortable shelters and more room to move. It will be the perfect greeting to everyone who passes through it daily on their way to work, school and other activities.” All of this translates into a better customer experience for all.” Accessibility Advocate Nadia Holubnycszyj is proud of how the station serves those with mobility disabilities as she stated in the same news conference, “The station enhancements benefit everyone, from those with permanent or temporary disabilities to the elderly to families with young children to anybody just having a bad day.

Given all the benefits this station will bring to travel in and around New Hyde Park, it will be amazing to see the other ways in which the Third Track Project will modernize the LIRR for years to come.