New York and Atlantic Railway
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Rail transport |
| Predecessor | Long Island Rail Road (freight operations) |
| Founded | 1997 |
| Headquarters | Queens , United States |
Area served | Long Island, New York |
| Products | Freight rail services |
| Owner | Anacostia Rail Holdings Company |
Number of employees | 60 (2019) |
| Parent | Anacostia Rail Holdings Company |
| Website | www |
The New York and Atlantic Railway (NY&A) operates as a short line railroad on Long Island, New York. Founded in 1997 to transfer freight operations from the Long Island Rail Road to private management, NY&A functions as a subsidiary of the Anacostia Rail Holdings Company. It links to the continental United States through CSX's Fremont Secondary line via the Hell Gate Bridge, and exchanges freight with New York New Jersey Rail's car float system at the 65th Street Yard, as well as with US Rail of New York located in Yaphank, New York. Its main freight facility is the Fresh Pond Junction yard in Queens, supplemented by Pine Aire Yard situated in northern Bay Shore, New York. The transition of freight services from the Long Island Rail Road to NY&A occurred on May 11, 1997, under an initial franchise agreement lasting 20 years.
Operations
NY&A caters to around 80 clients, transporting a diverse range of goods including lumber, construction supplies, scrap metal, bio-diesel fuel, foodstuffs, beer, gravel, propane, chemicals, structural steel components, plastics, and recyclable paper and cardboard. It also occasionally delivers utility poles and electrical transformers to the Long Island Power Authority’s facility in Hicksville and manages municipal solid waste shipments using sealed container trains. Additionally, the railway provides feed boxcars to Belmont Park and handles seasonal beer shipments that can reach up to 30 rail cars weekly for events such as the Super Bowl and St. Patrick’s Day celebrations.
Many customers utilize NY&A’s team tracks scattered throughout Long Island in locations like Bay Ridge, Hicksville, Huntington, Greenlawn, St. James, Islip, Richmond Hill, Maspeth, Speonk, Medford, and Southold for off-line operations. However, the majority of clients operate private sidings that minimize dependence on these team tracks. In 2011, a new transload terminal spanning 28 acres was privately financed and opened at Brookhaven Rail Terminal in Yaphank.
Between 2014 and 2015, NY&A established a transload facility at its Wheel Spur Yard near Long Island City to facilitate shipments of construction materials and food products supporting projects such as the Kosciuszko Bridge replacement. This yard became operational again in 2015.
Additional freight includes bentonite and rock salt. Annually, NY&A transports close to one million tons of gravel sourced from Connecticut quarries via deliveries made by the Providence and Worcester Railroad. Both the Long Island Rail Road and New York City Transit Authority rely on NY&A for receiving new railcars as well as shipping out-of-service equipment destined for scrapping along the Bay Ridge Branch.
Traffic
In 2018, New York & Atlantic handled approximately 30,000 carloads—significantly increased from roughly 9,200 carloads at its inception in May 1997. The majority of freight movements occur during nighttime hours when commuter rail traffic is less frequent.
About 15% of NY&A’s freight cars are transported across New York Harbor by barge from Jersey City to New York New Jersey Rail’s railyard in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. This daily barge operation is overseen by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and was previously constrained by a single aging barge with a capacity of 14 rail cars. In 2017 and 2018, two modern barges capable of carrying 18 cars each were introduced by the Port Authority. The anticipated Cross-Harbor Rail Tunnel project could boost annual car movements to approximately 25,000 compared to around 5,000 in 2018.
Crewing
In 2019, NYA's workforce consisted of approximately 60 employees, including a team of eight train crews. The company's crewing arrangements contrast notably with those of the Long Island Rail Road, allowing for enhanced adaptability to fulfill the requirements of freight clients. NYA maintains two crew locations: one situated in Glendale, Queens, and another positioned close to the former Pine Aire station along the main line between Deer Park and Brentwood. Typically, six crews are active on weekdays.
Incidents
On July 8, 2015, an NYA freight train collided with a tractor-trailer in Maspeth, Queens, following a slow descent of the crossing gates; the truck operator suffered minor injuries.
On June 17, 2021, NYA Train RS41 (powered by locomotives 300 and 271) was struck from behind by LIRR Inspection Car TC82 just east of Cold Spring Harbor station. Minor injuries were reported by crew members on both trains.