Нью-Йорк метросы: Брод Ченнел станциясының тарихы мен ерекшеліктері

New York City Subway station in Queens

The Broad Channel station is a station on the IND Rockaway Line of the New York City Subway, located in the neighborhood of the same name at Noel and West Roads in the borough of Queens. It is served by the A train and the Rockaway Park Shuttle at all times, the latter of which originates/terminates here. Broad Channel originally opened in 1880 as a Long Island Railroad station. The LIRR discontinued service in 1950 after a fire on the trestle across Jamaica Bay, to the station's north. The station reopened June 28, 1956, as a subway station. Broad Channel is the only subway station serving the island of Broad Channel, which is located in Jamaica Bay and only has about 3,000 residents. Thus it is the least used in the subway as of 2023. However, this station is the only transfer point for riders traveling between Brooklyn and Manhattan (which the A train travels to) and the four other stations served by the Rockaway Park Shuttle. North of this station, there are two additional tracks within the right of way: a short track that allows Rockaway Park Shuttle trains to reverse direction and return to the Rockaways, and a longer track that is used to test new subway cars.

The station originally opened in 1880 as a New York, Woodhaven and Rockaway Railroad station (although some sources claim it opened in June 1881) and was acquired by the Long Island Rail Road, to become a station on the Rockaway Beach Branch. A fire on the trestle between this station and another one known as The Raunt, located to the north, forced the closure of both stations on May 23, 1950, as well as the entire Jamaica Bay trestle which stretches from Howard Beach to Hammels Wye. The station opened to subway service on June 28, 1956. The station and the adjacent segment of the Rockaway Line suffered serious damage during Hurricane Sandy in 2012, and was out of service for several months. Due to its location in the middle of Jamaica Bay, the station was filled with debris, with its trackbed damaged. During its temporary closure, the station received new ADA tactile strips, platform edge rubbing boards, and cosmetic and mechanical work. Service was restored to the station on May 30, 2013, and to celebrate the re opening, a vintage R1 subway car formed the first train. In 2018, a two phase program of flood mitigation work along the Hammels Wye required further service disruptions. The first phase, from April 9 to May 18, suspended rush hour A trips to Rockaway Park. The second phase, which began on July 1, rerouted all Far Rockaway A service to Rockaway Park until September 3. In both phases, the shuttle ran from Rockaway Park to Far Rockaway, skipping Broad Channel.

Just to the north, the Rockaway Line gains two extra non revenue tracks straddling the two revenue tracks. while the eastern track is used to relay shuttle trains. The western track extends around 10000 feet (3048 m) or nearly 2 miles (3.2 km), The test track was installed in 2001 by New York City Transit's Maintenance of Way Department to ensure that new cars have undergone necessary acceleration and braking tests before being put into revenue service. This was because NYCT needed to recover a greater amount of braking energy and reduce power demand peaks with the introduction of AC motored cars with the capability for regenerative braking. A kinetic energy storage system with KESS technology was installed, and as a result, the voltage regulation of the track improved. The system provides voltage support to the revenue tracks as well as reinforcing the voltage of the test track during the testing of new trains.

Broad Channel is a small island with fewer than 3,000 residents, and as a result, it has historically been one of the least used stations in the system. In 1985, the station had only 224 paying daily riders on a typical weekday, making it one of the least used stations in the system. The station had the second lowest ridership in the subway system as of 2019, with annual riders. However, it is the only transfer point between the A train and the Rockaway Park Shuttle, and some 2,700 daily riders use it in this capacity. Nearby points of interest include a visitor center and trails for the Gateway National Recreation Area's Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge.