The recent LIRR & Atlantic Freight Agreement brings forth the fact that the LIRR main line, from Floral Park to Carle Place, requires a substantial infrastructure upgrade. The LIRR signed an agreement giving the New York & Atlantic Railway freight company access to the Hicksville freight yard on the LIRR main line. New York & Atlantic Railway will give the LIRR two yards near the entrance to the East Side Access Tunnel in Long Island City. LIRR President Ken Bauer indicated that this is a major component of the East Side Access to Grand Central project and will increase the train capacity of the LIRR by 45 percent. The resulting increase in commuter and freight train traffic will require a third main line railroad track from Floral Park to Carle Place and main line at-grade crossing elimination in the New Hyde Park Garden City, Stewart Manor and Mineola area.

The LIRR main line infrastructure issues in the Mineola-Carle Place area are being addressed by the "LIRR Road Crossing Improvement Project in Mineola." This project includes elimination of the Roslyn Road at-grade crossing and the infrastructure to add a third main line railroad track in the Mineola-Carle Place area. The fully funded Mineola Project is scheduled for completion by 2006 at a cost of $182 million.

The Mineola project can be the springboard for main line at-grade crossing elimination in the New Hyde Park-Stewart Manor-Garden City area and completion of a third railroad track to Floral Park. In the New Hyde Park-Stewart Manor-Garden City area, 14,000 vehicles cross the New Hyde Park Road main line at-grade crossing, 3,500 vehicles cross the South 12th Street main line at-grade crossing and 9,000 vehicles cross the Covert Avenue main line at-grade crossing each day. If the crossing gates were to be in the down position anymore time than they already are, complete gridlock will result in the west-central end of Nassau County.

The majority of the LIRR's nine major branches use the two-track main line from Bellerose to Hicksville. The LIRR has the right of way to construct a third track from Floral Park to Carle Place without having to acquire adjoining property by condemnation. The third railroad track would be constructed next to the existing eastbound track, and the New Hyde Park, Merillon Avenue and Mineola Railroad Station eastbound platforms would be moved approximately 10 to 15 feet south of where they are now. The shortest workable third track configuration would be constructed from just east of the Floral Park Railroad Station to just west of the LIRR bridge over Glen Cove Road in Carle Place.

The current two-track main line configuration cannot handle the 250 to 300 trains that travel on it now. East Side Access to Grand Central, increased freight train traffic and increased reverse commuter train traffic are going to be a reality in the very near future. These infrastructure improvements will not only accommodate the projected 45 percent increase in LIRR train traffic, but they will eliminate the train-vehicle-pedestrian interaction at the busiest at-grade crossing, resulting in reduced vehicle air pollution and increased safety.

The key to a comprehensive solution to the main line train-vehicle-pedestrian bottleneck is to incorporate the third railroad track installation into a project to eliminate what the LIRR calls the "New Hyde Park Group" of at-grade crossings. This, along with the Mineola project already in progress, will provide ample track capacity to handle the increased freight and East Side Access commuter train traffic. It will also eliminate the sound of train horns and make the main line communities of New Hyde Park, Garden City, Stewart Manor and Mineola safer.

Edward Powers

New Hyde Park