The Long Island Rail Road will cost just $2.75 from Far Rockaway for the duration of the A train’s shutdown in Queens next year, Gov. Kathy Hochul and the MTA announced Thursday.
The MTA is set to close A train service between the Rockaway Peninsula and the rest of the city for four months starting in January of next year, as the MTA conducts repairs to the line’s infrastructure that was damaged during Hurricane Sandy, aiming to make it more resilient to the next big storm.
But in the meantime, Rockaway residents are being left without access to their only train back to the mainland, with shuttle buses running along the routes from Far Rockaway and Rockaway Park to Howard Beach and Broad Channel in the interim.
However, The MTA now says that riders can take the LIRR without shelling out additional clams for the privilege. At the Far Rockaway station, the terminus of the same-named branch close to the A train, commuters will be able to get on the LIRR for just $2.75, less than the price of a subway fare. Far Rockaway branch trains run en route to Penn Station, Grand Central Madison, and Atlantic Terminal.
Presently, an LIRR ticket from Far Rockaway costs the same as one in the city terminal zone — $7 peak and $5 off-peak. Being at the end of the Far Rockaway Branch, the station was not originally included in the CityTicket fare deal but was brought into the fold last year.
Meanwhile, the Rockaway Park Shuttle will be fare-free and run the length of the peninsula. For most of the shutdown, free shuttle buses will run express from Howard Beach to Far Rockaway or local from Howard Beach to Beach 67th Street, via Broad Channel and Beach 90th Street.
Other options include the Q52 and Q53 select buses to the A train at Rockaway Boulevard and the Q35 bus to Flatbush Avenue-Brooklyn College.
The MTA has determined a full shutdown of the A in Rockaway is necessary to conduct critical repairs to the Hammels Wye viaduct, which includes the fork where trains diverge from east to west. The viaduct suffered critical damage from Hurricane Sandy that forced the closure of train service for seven months back in 2013, and the new repairs are expected to make the line more resilient to future storms.
