Owned by Long Island Rail Road Disabled access Yes Owner Long Island Rail Road Platforms in use 2 | Tracks 4 Opened 1906 Rebuilt 5 August 1911 | |
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Location Continental (71st) Avenue & Austin Street
Forest Hills, New York Line(s) Main Line
(City Terminal Zone) Connections New York City Subway:
at Forest Hills – 71st Avenue
MTA Bus: Q23, Q60, Q64 Address Queens, NY 11375, United States Similar Forest Hills ‑ 71 Av, Kew Gardens, Silver Lake, Hicksville, Mineola | ||
Forest Hills is a station on the Main Line of the Long Island Rail Road in Forest Hills. Like other LIRR stations within New York City, passengers may take advantage of the CityTicket program on weekends. It is lightly used compared to other stations in the city, with only 1,116 weekday riders; many residents opt for the subway because of its increased service and direct express trains to Midtown Manhattan.
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Location
Located in the neighborhood of Queens of the same name, Forest Hills is situated on 71st Avenue (formerly known as Continental Avenue) between Austin and Burns Streets. It is also the northern boundary of Station Square, a historic Tudor town center, which was across from a building known as the "Forest Hills Inn." The station is also just east of the West Side Tennis Club. Two blocks to the north along 71st Avenue is the Forest Hills – 71st Avenue subway station, one of the busiest in Queens.
History
Built in 1911, the Forest Hills station is one of the oldest operating passenger railway stations in New York City, predating IND subway expansion to the area in the mid 1930s. Being subsequently remodeled for handicapped accessibility with ramps, it is one of two LIRR stations without standard blue and white signage (the other is Nostrand Avenue). Instead there are plaques and antique signs that complement the surrounding area. On July 4, 1917, former President Theodore Roosevelt made his "Unification Speech" from the steps of this station.
Station layout
A local station, Forest Hills has two side platforms and four tracks. Platform A serves westbound trains to Penn Station, while Platform B serves eastbound trains to the suburbs of Long Island; both are four cars long. The two inner tracks are used by express trains, although bridge plates are occasionally used to bridge over an outer track during track work. The relatively flat and straight stretch of track at Forest Hills has been used for PATH PA-1 and R44 speed tests.