St. George Terminal

History

A new ferry and rail terminal at the St. George site (then called St. George's Landing) and an extension of the Staten Island Railway (then called Staten Island Rapid Transit or SIRT) north form Vanderbilt's Landing (today's Clifton Station) had been proposed in the 1870s by the owners of the Staten Island Railroad, George Law, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and Erastus Wiman, to replace the various ferry sites on the north and east shores Staten Island. St. George was selected due to it being the closest point from Staten Island to Manhattan, approximately a 5 miles (8.0 km) distance. The name of the terminal and the local neighborhood were renamed to St. George in honor of Law, allegedly as a concession by Wiman in order to build the terminal and connecting tunnel on land owned by Law. An extension of the line to Tompkinsville was opened in 1884, and the underground tunnel between Tompkinsville and the terminal was constructed from 1884 to 1885. The ferry terminal was opened in early 1886, while the rail terminal opened in March of that year. The terminal's entrance building would be opened in 1897.

The St. George rail terminal as originally built was constructed of wood, with no overhead obstructions. Adjacent to the station was a large freight terminal called the St. George Yard, where the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's freight operations exchanged with car floats to other terminals in the New York Harbor. The B&O also operated the SIRT and ferries under a 99-year lease signed in 1885. A trolley terminal for the Staten Island Electric Company was formerly located above the ferryhouse.

The St. George tunnel was lengthened in 1905. It was built with two portals at its north end; one on the geographic east side currently in use by the SIR, and an additional western portal intended for the Staten Island Tunnel, which would have traveled across the Narrows and connected to the New York City Subway's BMT Fourth Avenue Line in Brooklyn. In 1923 an excavation shaft for the Narrows tunnel was constructed at the south end of the terminal near Shore Road, though construction was halted in 1925.

On June 25, 1946, a large fire destroyed both the wooden ferry and rail terminals. Full service was restored in July of that year. A new facility was built by the city, opening on June 8, 1951, which led the tunneling shaft to be filled in. The new facility cost $21 million. The former freight yard was replaced by a NYCDOT Municipal Parking Lot when the new terminal opened, and is now also the site of the Richmond County Bank Ballpark.

The station served as the northern (eastern) terminus for the SIR North Shore Branch to Arlington and Port Ivory until its closure in 1953. The line used tracks 11 and 12 on the north end of the terminal, which are currently unused.

Currently, St. George hosts a direct rail-sea connection, one of a few left in the United States.

Staten Island Ferry

St. George Terminal is one of two terminals of the Staten Island Ferry. The other is Whitehall Terminal, on the southern tip of Manhattan near Battery Park. The Staten Island Ferry runs a 24-hour service between the two.

The Staten Island Ferry carries over 19 million annual passengers on 33,000 yearly trips over a 5.2-mile (8.4 km) route that takes approximately 25 minutes each way. Each day, approximately five boats transport about 75,000 passengers during 104 boat trips.

During rush hours, ferries usually run every 15 and 20 minute intervals, decreasing to 30 minutes during the mid-days and evenings, and every 30 minutes during very late or early morning/midnight hours. On weekends, ferries run every 30 and 60 minutes. In November 2006, additional ferries running every 30 minutes were provided during the weekend morning hours—the most significant change in the ferry schedule for about 3 decades.

Staten Island Railway

The rail station, signed as St. George, which opened on March 7, 1886, is the northern terminus of the main line of the Staten Island Railway. Service is provided 24 hours a day, every day. It is also one of two stations that require the US$2.75 fare on entry and exit, the other being Tompkinsville. This station is handicapped accessible and it is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

This station is situated in an open cut below street level, with a four-lane bus terminal and parking lot above it. The station has five active platforms and ten tracks, numbered 1 through 10 from east to west. All tracks end at bumper blocks at their railroad northern (geographic eastern) ends. There is also a sixth island platform with two additional tracks (11 and 12) to the west (geographic north) no longer in revenue service, which historically served the SIRT's North Shore Branch. It currently acts as a passageway to the North Municipal Parking Field on Richmond Terrace, and towards Richmond County Bank Ballpark, one of two access points to this station. The track ballast is present through this construction zone. The mezzanine area has separate fare control areas: the east side for passengers entering, and the west side is for passengers exiting. Station booths and MetroCard vending machines are located on both sides. Just before each platform bay are the old destination indicators to the left and right of each platform entrance, corresponding to each departing track. There are green bulbs above these displays that indicate where the next train will be leaving from. This station originally opened with nothing overhead; no bus bays and no ramps. It was the site of a 1946 fire that nearly destroyed the terminal.

Just south of the station towards Tompkinsville, the SIR runs in the system's only tunnel, known as the St. George Tunnel.

New York City Bus

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority operates a number of bus routes in Staten Island, New York, United States. Some of them are the direct descendants of streetcar lines (see list of streetcar lines in Staten Island).

Departures are given below by loading bay.