page_title: Jamaica station
hierarchical_section_title: Jamaica station
context_page_description: Jamaica is a major hub station of the Long Island Rail Road and is located in Jamaica, Queens, New York City. With weekday ridership exceeding 200,000 passengers, it is the largest transit hub on Long Island, the fourth-busiest rail station in North America, and the second-busiest station that exclusively serves commuter traffic. It is the third-busiest rail hub in the New York area, behind Penn Station and Grand Central Terminal. Over 1,000 trains pass through each day, the third-most in the New York area behind Penn Station, Grand Central Terminal and Secaucus Junction.
  The Jamaica station is located on an embankment above street level and contains six platforms and ten tracks for LIRR trains. A concourse above the LIRR platforms connects to a station on the AirTrain JFK elevated people mover to John F. Kennedy International Airport, which contains two tracks and one platform. There are also connections to the Archer Avenue lines of the New York City Subway at a separate station directly below. The area just outside is served by several local bus routes, and others terminate within a few blocks of the station.
context_section_description: Jamaica is a major hub station of the Long Island Rail Road and is located in Jamaica, Queens, New York City. With weekday ridership exceeding 200,000 passengers, it is the largest transit hub on Long Island, the fourth-busiest rail station in North America, and the second-busiest station that exclusively serves commuter traffic. It is the third-busiest rail hub in the New York area, behind Penn Station and Grand Central Terminal. Over 1,000 trains pass through each day, the third-most in the New York area behind Penn Station, Grand Central Terminal and Secaucus Junction.
  The Jamaica station is located on an embankment above street level and contains six platforms and ten tracks for LIRR trains. A concourse above the LIRR platforms connects to a station on the AirTrain JFK elevated people mover to John F. Kennedy International Airport, which contains two tracks and one platform. There are also connections to the Archer Avenue lines of the New York City Subway at a separate station directly below. The area just outside is served by several local bus routes, and others terminate within a few blocks of the station.
  All LIRR services except the Port Washington Branch pass through Jamaica station. The Main Line westwards leads to Long Island City station in Queens and Penn Station in Manhattan, while the Atlantic Branch diverges along Atlantic Avenue to Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn. East of Jamaica, these three lines diverge, with some branch services using the Main Line, some using the Atlantic Branch, and some using the Montauk Branch. Because of its central location on all services (except the Port Washington Branch), it is common for commuters to "change at Jamaica", or switch trains to reach their final destination. After the opening of East Side Access in 2023, the southernmost platform at Jamaica will be used primarily by shuttle trains to and from Atlantic Terminal, while through services will continue to Long Island City, Penn Station and Grand Central Terminal.
caption: Track 3, Platform B at Jamaica station, looking west.
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