Alrighty, this one’s an important station. So, rather than use both names for the station complex (Jamaica for the LIRR, Sutphin Blvd./Archer Ave./JFK Airport for the EJZ), I just shortened it to Jamaica/JFK. With that in mind, here we go.
The subway platform is a two-level setup, with the E on one level and the J(/Z) on the other. This, however, is not the end of the line, though, as there is another stop past here. But, we’ll talk about that later. The mezzanine is rather spacious, to accommodate the loads of people going between the LIRR, the subway, and even the AirTrain (beyond the scope of this blog). I didn’t spend much time here, but it has everything you’d expect (staff, OMNY machines, elevators, etc.).
Going up to street level, you have an old station house – which, interestingly, is also the LIRR’s headquarters. Notably, a good amount of the LIRR’s dispatching is done out here as well, presumably handling everything except the tracks going in/out of Penn Station. The waiting room here is small, but it has a convenience store and a LIRR ticketing agent. In the station itself, it kinda reminds me of Ruggles in a way, but much larger, with the canopy covering the entire station. As for the station itself, you have stairs and escalators down to the numerous platforms, a waiting room on each platform that is sheltered, benches, wastebaskets, access to the AirTrain, ticketing machines (at the time there were MetroCard machines too). Notably, this is the 4th-busiest station on the entire continent (behind Penn Station, Grand Central, and Toronto Union). There’s also bus connections along Archer Avenue outside the station. As for land use, it’s not bad, but it’s not as built-up as LI City, the Atlantic Terminal area, or Midtown. Overall though, it’s very much not an awful station.
The good: It’s a major interchange for the subway, the airport link, and the LIRR. There’s also plenty of bus connections!
The bad: This mostly comes down to the land use, but Jamaica isn’t as well built-up as Midtown or LIC is, and thus it feels a bit jarring that one of the busiest stations on the continent is largely among midrise buildings and single-family houses. I don’t really have any complaints though, otherwise.
Nearby points of interest: Not a lot. The immediate intersections are sorta mid-rise? Yet, you can find single-family homes pretty much next door. It’s kinda jarring, honestly.
Transit connections:
LIRR (Oyster Bay, Port Jefferson, Ronkonkoma, Hempstead, West Hempstead, Babylon, Montauk, Long Beach, Far Rockaway, Brooklyn Shuttle)
8th Ave. (E)
Jamaica/Nassau St. (J/Z)
MTA bus (Q1, Q6, Q8, Q9, Q20, Q25, Q30, Q31,Q40, Q41, Q43, Q44-SBS, Q54, Q56, Q60, Q65, Q75)
JFK AirTrain (Red Line)
Overall, it’s a very important station, and a pretty good one at that. The land use feels weird, though.
Rating: 10/10
