Howard Beach – JFK Airport (IND Rockaway Line)

Howard Beach – JFK Airport New York City Subway rapid transit station
Station statistics
Address	159th Avenue & 103rd Street Howard Beach, NY 11414
Borough	Queens
Locale	Howard Beach
Coordinates	40.660445°N 73.830316°W / 40.660445; -73.830316
Division	B (IND, formerly LIRR Rockaway Beach Branch)
Line	IND Rockaway Line
Services	A  (all times)
Connection	MTA Bus: Q11 AirTrain JFK to John F. Kennedy International Airport
Structure	At-grade
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	4 (2 in regular service)
Other information
Opened	April 1913 (April 1913) (LIRR station) December 17, 2003 (December 17, 2003) (AirTrain JFK)
Rebuilt	June 28, 1956 (June 28, 1956) (as a Subway station)
Accessible
Traffic
Passengers (2012)	1,074,516 15.7%
Rank	347 out of 421
Station succession
Next north	Aqueduct – North Conduit Avenue: A
Next south	Broad Channel: A
Next north	Euclid Avenue: A
Next south	Far Rockaway – Mott Avenue (via Rockaway): A  Rockaway Park – Beach 116th Street (via Rockaway Park): A  S
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops in station at all times Stops all times except late nights Stops late nights only Stops late nights and weekends only Stops weekdays only Stops all times except rush hours in the peak direction Stops all times except weekdays in the peak direction Stops daily except rush hours in the peak direction Stops rush hours only Stops rush hours in the peak direction only Station is closed (Details about time periods)

Howard Beach – JFK Airport is a station on the IND Rockaway Line of the New York City Subway. Located at Coleman Square between 159th Avenue and 103rd Street in Howard Beach, Queens, it is served by the A train at all times.

History

The station originally opened in April 1913 as a Long Island Rail Road station, which replaced the former 1899-built Ramblersville station that was built 0.2 miles to the south. In 1923, the station was retrofitted with sheltered sheds on both sides of the tracks. On June 27, 1955 the station along with the rest of the Rockaway Beach Branch was taken out of service due to the May 7–8, 1950 fire that broke out between The Raunt and Broad Channel stations destroying the bridge over Jamaica Bay, and acquired by the New York City Transit Authority. On June 28, 1956, it was reopened as the subway station it is today and the previous station was razed.

The JFK Express, which provided a link to John F. Kennedy International Airport to the east from Manhattan, terminated at this station from 1978 to 1990, which included free shuttle bus service to the airport. The shuttle bus service was the only one to link the airport with this station until the debut of AirTrain JFK on December 17, 2003.

Due to extensive damage to the IND Rockaway Line by Hurricane Sandy, this is the southern terminal for A trains that normally travel to Far Rockaway – Mott Avenue and Rockaway Park – Beach 116th Street until mid-2013.

Description

This grade-level station has two side platforms and four tracks with the two center express tracks not used in revenue service. South of the station, there are switches and crossovers between all four tracks before the two outer tracks merge with the center ones. The two-track line then crosses Jamaica Bay to Broad Channel, which is 3.5 miles to the south, making the crossing the longest section between two stations in the system.

Both platforms have concrete windscreens on either ends and steel canopies in the center, where the station's mezzanine is. It is built in a modern, glass enclosed building above the platforms and tracks with a large stainless steel sign on either side reading "HOWARD BEACH JFK." A set of staircases, elevators, and escalators from each platform go up to fare control above the platforms and tracks that has a token booth and turnstile bank. The east side of the building has the fare control for AirTrain JFK while on the west side, a twisting staircase and two elevators go down to the east side of 103rd Street by the T-intersection of 159th Avenue.

The Rockaway-bound platform has two High Entry/Exit Turnstiles and one exit-only turnstile leading to a short staircase that goes down to the intersection of 159th Road and 103rd Street. The Manhattan-bound platform has a set of doors leading to the parking lot just north of the AirTrain JFK station.

Layout

Mezzanine

to AirTrain JFK

platform	Side platform, Doors will open on the right
	Northbound local	← towards Dyckman Street or Inwood – 207th Street
	Northbound express	← No regular service
	Southbound express	→ No regular service
	Southbound local	→ towards Far Rockaway – Mott Avenue, Rockaway Park – Beach 116th Street, or Howard Beach-JFK Airport
	Side platform, Doors will open on the right

Gallery

• 

  Station entrance

• 

  Southbound platform

AirTrain JFK Platform

The AirTrain JFK platform at this station has two tracks and one enclosed island platform on the upper level of the terminal that leads to Parking Area C. The next stop to the south/east is Lefferts Boulevard. Since it is owned by the Port Authority, it uses a separate fare control from the subway.

Preceding station		AirTrain JFK		Following station
Terminus		Howard Beach Route		Lefferts Boulevard toward Terminal 8
		Former services
Preceding station		LIRR		Following station
Aqueduct toward Grand Street		Rockaway Beach Branch		Hamilton Beach toward Rockaway Park

External links

Media related to Howard Beach – JFK Airport (IND Rockaway Line) at Wikimedia Commons

• nycsubway.org — IND Rockaway: Howard Beach
• Station Reporter — A Rockaway
• Howard Beach AirTrain station announcement
• The Subway Nut — Howard Beach – JFK Airport Pictures
• entrance from Google Maps Street View