Category: irl

Fox Chase is a station in northeastern Philadelphia in the namesake neighborhood of, well, Fox Chase. This station is in a rather residential neighborhood, though it’s at the bumper blocks that end at Rhawn Street. There’s also a Wawa here!

Fox Chase station has a relatively unusual layout, with 2 sides and an island platform. At the outer end of the platforms by the bumper blocks lie mini-highs for accessibility. However, trains don’t board here! There’s grade crossings for changing sides, and a sheltered waiting area. There’s also ticketing machines, but as is standard with SEPTA, they don’t dispense tickets. So, screw you if you need to buy a ticket before boarding. (although, to my knowledge, SEPTA doesn’t really charge a surcharge to the same extreme as the LIRR or Metro-North). There’s also departure boards, a decent amount of parking, and even bus connections to the route 18, 24, and 28 buses. Neat!

The good: It exists! It’s also technically accessible and, surprisingly, has a departure board! Also, the area around it is walkable to an extent. AND THERE’S A WAWA?! :O

The bad: Why the mini-highs? No full-level platforms? Furthermore, the bus connection locations are a mild mess, but whatever, not the end of the world. But seriously though, SEPTA, y’all got mini-highs, STOP AT THEM!

Nearby points of interest: Wawa! There’s some schools nearby, a lot of housing, green space at the Oxford Avenue loop, and a trail following the old Newtown Extension. Also, as an aside, the Oxford Avenue railroad crossing is NOT a quiet zone, so if you’re around here, and you want to railfan with horns, go there! (it is also an “OH LAWD!!!”-sized crossing).

Transit connections:
Regional Rail (Fox Chase)
SEPTA bus (18, 24, 28)

Overall, it’s not a bad station, it’s about average. It could be far worse, considering this is SEPTA. And there’s also Wawa here! Neat!

Rating: 6/10

Forest Hills, a stone’s throw from 71st/Continental Ave.’s, is a LIRR station along the mainline between Penn Station/Grand Central/L.I. City, and Jamaica. Let’s look.

The station is located on an overpass over 71st/Continental Avenue in, well, Forest Hills, Queens. Located 3ft from the EFMR, this station serves trains going to/from Midtown and LIC. The station will accessible by way of ramps (it was not when I visited), and as of writing this, the platforms are being extended to accommodate 10 car trains. At present, though, only the first 4 or so cars platform. The station also has benches, wastebaskets, departure boards, all that usual stuff. Overall, though, while fancy, there isn’t too much special other than appearances. The neighborhood is so upscale, though, that there aren’t even any local buses going down 71st Avenue past the station.

The good: It’s (I think?) accessible, as of writing this post. Also, the MTA is giving the station the care it needs. Furthermore, the connection with the EFMR and various local and express buses are valuable. Also, this section to Jamaica with the LIRR is redundant to the E specifically. As for the station itself, I kinda dig the upscale vibes of it and the neighborhood.

The bad: Why did it take this long for the station to get a platform extension? A station this important should also have an indoor waiting area. Kew Gardens has(/had) one, why not here? Also, surprisingly, no bus going down 71st Avenue itself.

Nearby points of interest: Forest Hills Stadium is the big one. Other than that, same stuff as the subway stop.

Transit connections: Same as the subway stop. But I’ll list ’em anyways:
MTA subway (Lines E, F, M, R)
LIRR (Hempstead, Ronkonkoma, Far Rockaway, Babylon, West Hempstead, Long Beach, Port Jefferson)
MTA bus (Q23, Q60, Q64, Q74, QM4, QM11, QM12, QM18, QM42, QM44)

Overall, not a bad station, and rather upscale at that.

Rating: 7/10

Little Neck is a LIRR station located in the rather quiet Queens neigborhood bearing the same name. Located on the Port Washington Line, this station is a little unusual vs. all the others. Let’s look at it.

First off, I have to give a shoutout to the ride out here. Beautiful ride, especially as the line curves around Little Neck Bay. As for the station itself, the station consists of two high-level platforms that are approximately 10 cars long. Rather unusually, the station is also located at a grade crossing, and one with extra protection at that (quad-gated!). Why? Well, my guess is that the neighbors complained enough to get the LIRR to get permission to protect the crossing enough and put up “NO TRAIN HORN” signage. The station house is nice, and was open when I was here (at around 11am on a weekday), however the HVAC was out of service. Not pleasant when it’s 100 degrees outside! As for outside, the inbound platform has a decent amount of shade. Outbound? Not so much. There’s also a pedestrian bridge that isn’t accessible. As for the amenities, you have your usual LIRR affair (shelter, ticket machines, benches, departure boards, etc.). There’s also a bus connection at 40th Avenue, being the Q36 to Jamaica via Bellerose and Hillside Avenue. That runs every 30 minutes or so on weekdays. Overall though, not a bad station.

The good: It exists, and serves the local neighborhood and eastern Queens (which is surprisingly rather car-centric!). It’s also accessible and has an open station house, and even a bus connection.

The bad: The damn gates (do NOT try beating the gates!). Also, the pedestrian bridge being inaccessible is a tad annoying.

Nearby points of interest: By and large, housing. I guess there’s a water treatment plant nearby too? The main commercial strip is Northern Boulevard, which is a bit of a hike away.

Transit connections:
LIRR (Port Washington)
MTA bus (Q36)

Overall, it’s not a bad station. It’s a bit unusual, but not in a bad way. Also, shoutout to the video Sammymarrco made of this place. Strongly suggest giving it a watch.

Rating: 8/10

Riverfront Stadium was a baseball stadium built for Newark’s Atlantic League baseball team. Unfortunately, it was torn down in 2019, and there lies absolutely NOTHING here.

The station consists of a hunk of concrete, a sign, another sign that tells you HOW to pay your fare (yikes!), and an emergency call point. That’s it. That’s the whole station. At this point, just walk to Broad Street. There isn’t even a saving grace for this sorry excuse of a station.

The good:

The bad: Existence.

Nearby points of interest: Broad Street Station and Atlantic Street Station.

Transit connections:
NJT (Newark Light Rail)

Overall, this station should not exist.

Rating: 0.25/10

Atlantic Terminal is one of the four terminals of the LIRR within NYC city limits (Far Rockaway notwithstanding). Located in Downtown Brooklyn, the station lies underneath both the namesake Atlantic Terminal Mall, and also the Barclays Center- which, notably, is home of the Brooklyn Nets of the NBA, as well as the New York Liberty of the WNBA (remember the women). With that in mind, and with this being the heart of Brooklyn, let’s dig into this station.

The LIRR section of the station isn’t too crazy, with a handful of platforms. For most times, the station is served by a shuttle train running between here and Jamaica Station in Queens. However, you can also catch an odd West Hempstead train, or at rush hours a train heading all the way towards Babylon or Far Rockaway. The platforms themselves aren’t that crazy. However, the concourse is also relatively small – even if it’s (surprisingly, and if memory serves) staffed. There is, however, a physical connection to the Atlantic Terminal Mall here, as well as the IRT lines! Neat!

Some of the subway entrances retain their original designs (which actually looks cool!), with one such entrance being found on Hanson Place near Flatbush Avenue. Going down this one will bring you to the platforms for the B/Q, and the 2/3/4/5. Notably missing was the DNR platform – which was HELL to find. The platforms themselves look as you’d expect: tiling, usual amenities, but nothing too crazy. I really did hate finding the DNR platforms though. I mean, eventually I did. And, after finding the DNR and photographing it as needed for this blog entry, I made my way back to the BQ platform, and after witnessing someone careening down the stairs on a bicycle (ouch!), I hopped on the Q and proceeded to the BMT shuttle. Overall, nothing insane.

The good: It gives Downtown Brooklyn a direct connection to the LIRR network. Furthermore, it’s one stop short of the heart of the BMT (DeKalb), even though arguably this is more important as more BMT lines serve here. It’s also got direct access to both a mall and a sports arena. Neat!

The bad: Trying to find the right passage from the BQ to the DNR can be very tricky.

Nearby points of interest: You may see signs that say “BAM!” on them. That’s actually just the Brooklyn Academy of Music. There’s also the Atlantic Terminal Mall and the Barclays Center, a state DMV branch, and an Apple Store.

Transit connections:
LIRR (Brooklyn Shuttle, West Hempstead, Far Rockaway, Babylon, Hempstead)
7th Ave. IRT (Lines 2, 3)
Lexington Ave. IRT (Lines 4, 5)
Broadway BMT (Lines N, Q, R)
6th Ave. IND (Lines B, D)
MTA bus (B41, B45, B63, B65, B67, B103)

Overall, it’s not too awful a station, but it’s one that’s REALLY annoying to navigate. Yuck. I’d argue this is even worse than Penn Station on that front.

Rating: 6.5/10

On this day in 2022, Union Square station opened up, serving the D- oh, wait, wrong station? Oh, ohhhh, this is FOURTEENTH STREET on the IRT and BMT! Okay, I get it now!

So, Union Square is located under its namesake park, and serves both the IRT (the #s 4, 5, and 6 lines) and the BMT (L, N, Q, R, and W) lines. As such, it’s also a transfer point between the IRT and BMT lines. Let’s look at it.

The IRT section is an express stop (serving both the 4 and 5, along with the 6) and is rather unique. While it isn’t accessible, the tracks are curved going into the station, and even considerably inside the station itself. This means the platforms need gap fillers and a reminder that, to sum up the British, one has to MIND THE GAP. Otherwise, it’s standard for an inaccessible express station. Nothing to remark otherwise aside from the coolness factor of a severely curved platform. But, no seriously, mind the gap please.

Moving on to the BMT platforms, they’re both normal. Nothing special. Both are accessible, have the usual amenities, and whatnot. This is a local stop (as are all stops) on the L (Canarsie/14th St.) line, and an express stop on the NQRW (Broadway) lines. Furthermore, there’s OMNY machines and a staffed booth in the mezzanine, and you even have some shops outside fare control. Neat! There’s even a rather cool-looking headhouse in Union Square Park itself. Did I also mention there’s a lot of buses here, too? Many of which happen to be useful as well?

The good: It’s a REALLY busy station, with both a number of local and express buses, along with the 4/5/6 lines, the L line, and the NQRW lines as well. It’s located right on the borderland of what’s generally considered “lower Manhattan” and “not lower Manhattan” (14th St. itself is generally seen as the cutoff, from what I could find). Also, it’s the 4th-busiest station on the entire system. For context, the other top 3 (Times Square, Grand Central, and Herald Square) have also been covered here.

The bad: The only real stinker is the IRT platforms being inaccessible. That’s actually kinda scary, considering this is the 4th-busiest station on the entire system.

Nearby points of interest: Union Square Park, various shops and restaurants, and the obvious case of housing. I will note though, I did get the impression most restaurants nearby aren’t exactly affordable to a more normal person like myself. There is also a holiday market, from what I was told, if you happen to be in the area during the Christmas shopping craze. There’s even a farmers’ market!

Transit connections: Oh boy, this one’s a doozy.
Lexington Ave. (4, 5, 6)
BMT Broadway (N, Q, R, W)
Canarsie/14th St. (L)
MTA bus (M1, M2, M3, M14A-SBS, M14D-SBS, SIM1C, SIM3C, SIM4C, SIM7, SIM9, SIM33, SIM33C, X27, X28)

Overall, for usability, it’s a very important station, and the adjacent park is kinda nice too! It’s kinda scary how it’s not accessible despite being up there in the top 10 most-used stations system-wide though.

Rating: 9.5/10

Wait, didn’t I already cover Forest Hills? Well, yes, but not in NYC. And, there’s a second station here also carrying the name – albeit that one is served by the LIRR. That one is coming a little later, as today’s focus is the subway.

So, the M/R both terminate here, and historically the G has also terminated here (but not since, iirc, 2010). However, the station is your standard express configuration with two islands. The platform is pretty standard with benches and clocks and whatnot. As for the track layout, there’s a big mess of crossovers spanning two levels beyond the station, with the upper level primarily being used for continuing trains (the E to Parsons Blvd. and the F to 179th Street), and the lower level being used for access to Jamaica Yard (primarily supplying service to the E, F, and R lines). It’s oftentimes said that this station also kinda sucks as a terminal, but I don’t know enough about NYC terminal ops to make a judgement call on that. As for the mezzanine, it’s your standard affair for the IND. There’s also the LIRR a stone’s throw away. Neat! It’s also an accessible station. From here, the next stop outbound is Kew Gardens on the E and 75th Avenue on the F.

The good: It’s accessible, and has a good amount of transit connections!

The bad: The station really sucks as a terminal! (as far as I understand, anyways – and I’m inclined to believe this given my experiences with signal issues!) But also, Queens Blvd. itself is wide as hell. That isn’t good! If you don’t know what exit to take, you may have to hail Mary across it to reach the LIRR! Yikes!

Nearby points of interest: There’s ..a tennis stadium???? But also, shopping, housing, and what looks like a very wealthy neighborhood.

Transit connections:
BMT-Broadway (R)
IND-6th Ave. (F, M)
IND-8th Ave. (E)
MTA bus (Q23, Q60, Q64, Q74, QM4, QM11, QM12, QM18, QM42, QM44)

Overall, the station itself is pretty normal, and there isn’t a lot to remark about. Yet another standard IND station.

Rating: 7/10

Radnor is a station on the weird mode of transit known as the Norristown High Speed Line (or the M). It’s located in Radnor Township off King of Prussia Rd., in suburbia. Let’s look at it.

The station consists of an inaccessible footbridge, a shelter with a bench and wastebaskets, and even some parking. Is there anything else? No? Cool. That’s it. That’s the whole station. Well, aside from a bus connection on King of Prussia Road, but that’s it.

The good: It exists? It can theoretically be a park & ride?

The bad: It’s inaccessible (except on the inbound side?) and it’s also stupid close to a number of other stations. The connection to Regional Rail(TM) is also not convenient – yet in spite of this rather major shortcoming, Regional Rail(TM) STILL is more accessible than this rinky dinky little station.

Nearby points of interest: An office park and Radnor High School, I guess? If you walk a little further (per Ranya), you can get to Micro Center!

Transit connections:
Norristown HSL
SEPTA bus (106)

Overall, this station blows.

Rating: 3.5/10

Ah, W. 4th, or I guess operationally, the heart of the IND network. (as all the ex-IND lines aside from the G and the far-flung shuttle converge here). So, surely this would have to be some big, grandiose station, right? Well…

The station is located along 6th Avenue, spanning between West 3rd and West 8th Streets, and is REALLY close to PATH’s 9th St. station. With that in mind, and with this being the beating heart of the IND (if something goes wrong here e.g. a switch or signal dies, then the entire IND network is functionally knocked out – essentially, the IND’s version of DeKalb. I could not find a comparison for the ex-IRT lines), surely it is grand, no?

WRONG! It’s just about as standard of an express IND station as one can get. I mean, you have elevators. And, the layout is unique with the mezzanine sandwiched between the ACE above and the BDFM below. This is also the point of no return for trains that need to be re-routed (e.g. E via F, or D via A) before meeting back up with their respective original routes. But, for the platform, it’s standard with all the amenities. Sometimes, it might reek of piss though, however out of the handful of times I actually used this station, I have not encountered such a problem. But, sometimes, being a normal station, if important, is a good thing.

The good: It’s literally the heart of the IND. Every IND line converges here except for the G and the shuttle, and it’s got various buses as well. Furthermore, it’s in a pretty lively part of Manhattan that isn’t as swarming with tourists (but I’d argue is still worth visiting as one, as a personal suggestion). It’s also accessible!

The bad: I mean, it blends in with the rest of the IND, but that isn’t always bad. Its’ importance as the heart of the IND network means one failiure here and the A/B/C/D/E/F/M are handicapped severely. (or in the case of the F, rerouted via the G sometimes). It’s important but fragile as far as infrastructure goes.

Nearby points of interest: Many of the same places as noted on the 9th St. PATH entry, and for Christopher Street apply here too, however this station is a little closer to NYU than 8th St. is on the BMT. Furthermore, you have Washington Square Park, various entertainment venues, and whatnot.

Transit connections:
8th Ave. IND (lines A, C, E)
6th Ave. IND (lines B, D, F, M)
MTA bus (M8, M55, SIM7, SIM33, SIM33C, X27, X28)
At 9th St.: PATH (JSQ-33, HOB-33)

Overall, it’s not a bad station. I’d probably give it an average-ish score that I give to stations that aren’t awful, but don’t have much to remark. But, this is one case where its usefulness elevates the score a bit.

Rating: 8/10