View source for Atlantic Terminal

{{short description|Long Island Rail Road station in Brooklyn, New York}}
{{about|the Long Island Rail Road station|the adjacent shopping center|Atlantic Terminal (shopping mall)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2023}}
{{Infobox station
| name               = Atlantic Terminal
| style              = LIRR
| image              = Atlantic Terminal, Brooklyn.jpg
| image_caption      = The [[station building|entrance pavilion]] at Atlantic Terminal, which opened in 2010.
| address            = Atlantic Avenue, Flatbush Avenue &amp; Hanson Place<br>[[Brooklyn]], [[New York City]]
| coordinates        = {{coord|40.684226|-73.977234|type:railwaystation_region:US-NY|display=inline,title}}
| line               = [[Atlantic Branch]]
| other              = {{rint|newyork|subway}} '''[[New York City Subway]]''':<br>{{NYCS Atlantic-Pacific|time=bullets}} at {{stn|Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center}}<br>{{bus icon|12px|Local Transit}} '''[[New York City Transit buses|NYCT Bus]]''': {{NYC bus link|B41|B45|B63|B65|B67|B103}}
| platform           = 3 [[island platform]]s
| tracks             = 6
| passengers         = 21,829 per weekday<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/mta/planning/data/2012_LIRR_OD_Report_Volume_I_FINAL%2008232016.pdf|title=2012–2014 LIRR Origin and Destination Report : Volume I: Travel Behavior Among All LIRR Passengers|date=August 23, 2016|publisher=[[Metropolitan Transportation Authority]]|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190717085537/http://web.mta.info/mta/planning/data/2012_LIRR_OD_Report_Volume_I_FINAL%2008232016.pdf|archive-date=July 17, 2019|access-date=March 29, 2020|at=PDF pp. 15, 197}}</ref>
| pass_year          = 2012—2014
| pass_rank          = 4 of [[List of Long Island Rail Road stations|125]]
| opened             = July 2, 1877
| closed             = 
| rebuilt            = 1907, 2010
| electrified        = July 26, 1905<br>750 [[volt|V]] ([[Direct current|DC]]) [[third rail]]
| accessible         = Yes
| code               = 
| owned              = [[Long Island Rail Road]]
| zone               = 1
| former             = Brooklyn (1852–1877)<br>Flatbush Avenue (1877–2010)
| services           = {{Adjacent stations|system=LIRR
  |line1=City Atlantic|right1=Nostrand Avenue
  |line2=West Hempstead|right2=Nostrand Avenue
  |line3=Hempstead|right3=Nostrand Avenue|note-mid3=Peak periods only
  |line4=Babylon|right4=Nostrand Avenue|note-mid4=Peak periods only|to-right4=Freeport
  |line5=Far Rockaway|right5=Jamaica |note-mid5=Peak periods only|to-right5=Far Rockaway 
  }}
| mpassengers        = 
| embedded           = {{Routemap
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|legend =track
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}}
The '''Atlantic Terminal''' (formerly  '''Flatbush Avenue''') is the westernmost [[commuter rail]] terminal  on the [[Long Island Rail Road]]'s (LIRR) [[Atlantic Branch]], located at [[Flatbush Avenue]] and [[Atlantic Avenue (New York City)|Atlantic Avenue]] in [[Downtown Brooklyn]], [[New York City]]. It is the primary terminal for the [[West Hempstead Branch]], and a peak-hour terminal for some trains on the [[Hempstead Branch]], [[Far Rockaway Branch]], and the [[Babylon Branch]];<ref name="MTA 2023 z608">{{cite web | title=LIRR service changes starting November 13 | website=MTA | date=November 13, 2023 | url=https://new.mta.info/article/lirr-service-changes-starting-november-13 | access-date=November 13, 2023}}</ref> most other service is provided by frequent shuttles to [[Jamaica station (LIRR)|Jamaica station]]. The terminal is located in the [[City Terminal Zone]], the LIRR's Zone 1, and thus part of the CityTicket program.

== History ==

=== 19th century ===
The station was originally named ''Brooklyn'' in 1852,<ref name="trainsarefun.com"/> twenty years after the line was established as the [[Brooklyn and Jamaica Railroad]], and was not originally a terminus.<ref name="trainsarefun.com">{{cite web| url=http://www.trainsarefun.com/lirrphotos/lirrstationshistory.htm| title=Long Island Station History| access-date=April 21, 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170526225709/http://www.trainsarefun.com/lirrphotos/lirrstationshistory.htm| archive-date=May 26, 2017| url-status=dead| df=mdy-all}}</ref> The original terminus was [[South Ferry, Brooklyn|South Ferry]], via the now shuttered [[Cobble Hill Tunnel]]. When LIRR subsidiary [[New York and Jamaica Railroad]] built a new line between Hunter's Point and Jamaica in 1861, the main line was relocated there, and the line was abandoned west of [[East New York, Brooklyn|East New York]], in compliance with Brooklyn's ban on steam railroads. West of East New York, the tracks were taken over by horse car lines.

The Brooklyn station designation was replaced by the ''Flatbush Avenue'' station on July 2, 1877. That same summer local Atlantic Avenue rapid transit trains began to stop there on August 13.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://arrts-arrchives.com/RAPIDTRANSIT.html| title=rapid transit| access-date=April 21, 2016}}</ref> The old depot was renovated between July–August 1878, when it began serving the [[Brooklyn, Flatbush and Coney Island Railroad]]. It was rebuilt again in June 1880. The headquarters for the Long Island Express Company was installed there in 1882, and gave the station a series of tracks that would later be known as the "EX Yard." In 1888, the Union Elevated Railway built an elevated railway line and station that connected to the LIRR station called the [[Atlantic Avenue (BMT Fifth Avenue Line)|Atlantic Avenue station]]. The Union Elevated eventually became part of the [[Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation]]. Further rebuilding took place again in 1893.

=== 20th century ===
Between 1904 and 1906, the Carlton Avenue Freight Yards were replaced by the [[Vanderbilt Avenue Freight Yards]]. This was just a portion of a major improvement project that included the complete reconstruction of the station. The second depot opened on April 1, 1907, with the depot at street level and the tracks installed underground. The station had a lobby that was larger than most LIRR stations, and contained subway type entrances to the tracks.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.arrts-arrchives.com/FAT3int.html| title=FLATBUSH AVENUE TERMINAL 3 – INTERIOR| access-date=April 21, 2016}}</ref> It also served as a post office building until 1925,<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.arrts-arrchives.com/photo6.html| title=Postal History| access-date=April 21, 2016}}</ref> and contained a baggage depot, express buildings, some meat houses which were inherited from the previous version of the station, and a merchandise terminal for "less than carload freight" added on in 1908. The [[Interborough Rapid Transit Company]] built a subway line called the [[IRT Eastern Parkway Line|Eastern Parkway Line]] and a [[Atlantic Avenue (IRT Eastern Parkway Line)|station on Atlantic Avenue]], that connected to the station on May 1, 1908. The BMT also built two more subway lines on [[Pacific Street (BMT Fourth Avenue Line)|Pacific Street]] along the [[BMT Fourth Avenue Line|Fourth Avenue Line]] on June 22, 1915, and [[Atlantic Avenue (BMT Brighton Line)|Atlantic Avenue]] along the [[BMT Brighton Line|Brighton Line]] on August 1, 1920. The connection to the [[BMT Fifth Avenue Line]] was lost on May 31, 1940.<ref>[http://forgotten-ny.com/2010/02/brooklyn-lirr-terminal/ ''Ministry of Travel: The New LIRR Brooklyn Terminal'']; Forgotten New York</ref>

[[File:Long Island Railroad Station interior, Flatbush Avenue ca. 1893.jpg|thumb|left|Interior of the station, c. 1893]]

The station was refurbished and the exterior was sandblasted in the early 1940s. The decline of rail service after World War II led to the station's gradual demise, however. Track #1 was out of service on April 10, 1959. Former express tracks numbers 9–14 ("EX" Yard) were taken out of service on March 3, 1971. At some point, the express buildings became a parking garage. Local businesses were still allowed to utilize the station, such as a barber shop, restaurants, candy stores, a snack bar, a podiatrist's office, a dental office, a beauty school, and even a row of telephone booths. Those businesses were gone by 1978. The tracks that were originally numbered from south to north were renumbered from north to south on July 1, 1978. Despite efforts to repaint the lobby in the early-1980s, random vandalism plagued the station interior causing water damage that was so severe, the street level depot was closed in 1988,<ref>{{Cite news|last=Gray|first=Christopher|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/04/17/realestate/streetscapes-flatbush-avenue-terminal-final-weeks-for-neo-renaissance-grand-dame.html|title=STREETSCAPES: Flatbush Avenue Terminal; The Final Weeks for a Neo-Renaissance Grand Dame?|date=April 17, 1988|work=The New York Times|access-date=April 23, 2022|page=10:17}}</ref>  and portions were razed during the 1990s.

=== 21st century ===
The MTA approved plans in March 1998 to renovate the Atlantic Avenue–Pacific Street subway station and the adjoining LIRR terminal, as well as build the [[Atlantic Terminal (shopping mall)|Atlantic Terminal shopping mall]] above the station.<ref name="nyt-1998-03-27">{{Cite news |last=Lueck |first=Thomas J. |date=March 27, 1998 |title=Plan Ratified for Mall at L.I.R.R. Terminal |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/03/27/nyregion/plan-ratified-for-mall-at-lirr-terminal.html |url-status=live |access-date=May 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230522010937/https://www.nytimes.com/1998/03/27/nyregion/plan-ratified-for-mall-at-lirr-terminal.html |archive-date=May 22, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Work on the stations' renovation began in 2000, and work on the shopping mall commenced the next year.<ref name="nyt-2001-04-04">{{Cite news |last=Siwolop |first=Sana |date=April 4, 2001 |title=Commercial Real Estate; Work to Start Soon on Mall at Atlantic Terminal |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/04/nyregion/commercial-real-estate-work-to-start-soon-on-mall-at-atlantic-terminal.html |url-status=live |access-date=May 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125211526/https://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/04/nyregion/commercial-real-estate-work-to-start-soon-on-mall-at-atlantic-terminal.html |archive-date=January 25, 2021 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> On January 5, 2010, a new [[station building|entry pavilion]], designed by di Domenico + Partners, opened, providing improved connections between the LIRR, subways, and buses.<ref name="lirr-2010-01-05">{{cite press release | publisher=Long Island Rail Road |date=January 5, 2010 |title=New LIRR Atlantic Terminal Pavilion Opens To The Public |url=http://www.mta.info/press-release/long-island-rail-road/new-lirr-atlantic-terminal-pavilion-opens-public|access-date=July 16, 2013}}</ref> In March 2010, the station was renamed ''Atlantic Terminal'' after a six-year reconstruction project,<ref>{{cite web | last=Brown | first=Stephen | date=December 29, 2009 | url=http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/33/1/33_01_ac_new_lirr_terminal.html| title=This new LIRR terminal is on a roll| work=The Brooklyn Paper| access-date=April 21, 2016}}</ref> during which trains continued to operate.

In 2014, the LIRR announced that service from [[Babylon (LIRR station)|Babylon]] and [[Hicksville (LIRR station)|Hicksville]] would go directly to Atlantic Terminal during [[New York Islanders]] games at [[Barclays Center]]. Passengers previously had to transfer at [[Jamaica (LIRR station)|Jamaica]] to go to Babylon or Hicksville.<ref>{{cite news | title=LIRR, Barclays Center work to get Islanders fans to come to Brooklyn |author=Castillo, Alfonso A. |url=http://www.newsday.com/long-island/lirr-barclays-center-work-to-get-islanders-fans-to-come-to-brooklyn-1.9364973 |newspaper=Newsday |date=September 20, 2014 |access-date=April 22, 2015}}</ref>

Since the opening of [[Grand Central Madison]] and the introduction of new schedules in February 2023, most service to Atlantic Terminal has been provided by a high-frequency shuttle service to and from Jamaica.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.apta.com/mc/rail/previous/2014/papers/Papers/Beth%20Kulick%20Reconfiguration.pdf|title=Jamaica Interlocking Reconfiguration Operations Simulation|last=Kulick|first=Beth|date=2014|website=apta.com|publisher=TranSystems Corporation|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305225627/http://www.apta.com/mc/rail/previous/2014/papers/papers/beth%20kulick%20reconfiguration.pdf|archive-date=March 5, 2016|url-status=dead|access-date=February 5, 2018}}</ref>

====Accident====
During the morning rush hour of January 4, 2017, a train overran the [[bumper block]] at the end of track 6, injuring 103, none seriously.<ref name="Newsday20170104">{{cite web | title=Officials: More than 100 hurt in LIRR train derailment | website=Newsday | date=January 4, 2017 | url=http://www.newsday.com/news/new-york/officials-lirr-train-derailment-at-atlantic-terminal-1.12860163 |access-date=January 4, 2017}}</ref><ref name="NBCNY409638225">{{cite web |url=http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/LIRR-Train-Derails-in-Brooklyn-409638225.html |title=LIRR Train Derails in Brooklyn; 103 People Hurt |first1=Andrew |last1=Siff |first2=Marc |last2=Santia |date=January 4, 2017 |publisher=NBC New York |access-date=January 5, 2017}}</ref> There were 650 passengers on the train, which had originated from [[Far Rockaway (LIRR station)|Far Rockaway]].<ref name="NYDN2934105"/> The accident occurred at about 8:20&nbsp;a.m. Two cars of the six-car [[M7 (railcar)|M7 electric multiple unit]] train involved were severely damaged when it collided with the bumper at a speed of {{convert|10|to|15|mph|km/h}}.<ref name=Newsday20170104/><ref name=NYDN2934105>{{cite web|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/lirr-train-derails-brooklyn-atlantic-terminal-article-1.2934105|title=LIRR train slams into Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn, injuring 103 passengers|last1=Rivoli|first1=Dan|last2=Marcius|first2=Chelsia Rose|last3=Izaguirre|first3=Anthony|last4=McShane|first4=Larry|work=[[New York Daily News]]|access-date=January 4, 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170105173735/http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/lirr-train-derails-injuring-103-people-brooklyn-terminal-article-1.2934105|archive-date=January 5, 2017}}</ref> The incident was compared to a [[2016 Hoboken train crash|September 2016 train crash]] at [[Hoboken Terminal]] in [[Hoboken, New Jersey]], wherein a train also overran a bumper block.<ref name="Newsday20170104" /> 

The [[National Transportation Safety Board]] (NTSB) and [[Federal Railway Administration]] opened investigations into the accident.<ref name=Newsday20170104/> On February 6, 2018, the NTSB released their Railroad Safety Brief on the accident. They determined the probable cause to be the engineer falling asleep due to chronic fatigue. The chronic fatigue was in part attributed to undiagnosed [[sleep apnea]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=National Transportation Safety Board |date=February 6, 2018 |title=Railroad Accident Brief: Long Island Rail Road Passenger Train Strikes Platform in Atlantic Terminal |url=https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/accidentreports/reports/rab1802.pdf}}</ref>

==Station layout==

The LIRR terminal, one floor below the ground level, has three high-level [[island platform]]s adjacent to six tracks. Platform A is ten cars long, but the two easternmost cars on Track 1 are not accessible due to a large gap between the train and the platform. Platform B is eight cars long. Platform C is six cars long, but Track 6 only has enough space for four cars to meet the platform as it is adjacent to the northbound local platform of the [[Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center (IRT Eastern Parkway Line)|IRT Eastern Parkway Line]].

{{NYCS Platform Layout Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center Station}}

==Subway and bus connections==
Atlantic Terminal is connected to the [[New York City Subway]]'s [[Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center station|Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center]] complex, which is served by the {{NYCS trains|Atlantic-Pacific}}.<ref>{{NYCS const|map}}</ref> Buses serving outside the complex include [[B41 (New York City bus)|B41]], [[B45 (New York City bus)|B45]], [[B63 (New York City bus)|B63]], [[B65 (New York City bus)|B65]], [[B67 (New York City bus)|B67]], and [[B103 (New York City bus)|B103]].<ref>{{Cite NYC bus map|B}}</ref>

==Nearby points of interest==
The rail terminal is adjacent to and below the [[Atlantic Terminal (shopping mall)|Atlantic Terminal mall]] and near the [[Barclays Center]], [[Brooklyn Academy of Music]] and the [[Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower]], as well as [[Brooklyn Technical High School]].

The massive [[Pacific Park, Brooklyn|Pacific Park]] residential, commercial and sports complex, which includes Barclays Center, is being built near the station and above its yard tracks.<ref>{{cite news | title=Slow Economy Likely to Stall Atlantic Yards |first=Charles V. |last=Bagli |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/21/nyregion/21yards.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=March 21, 2008 |access-date=February 14, 2010}}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery mode="packed" widths="245" heights="175" caption="Atlantic Terminal LIRR station">
File:LIRR atlantic avenue station 1910.jpg|1910 photo of the former LIRR Flatbush Avenue station (demolished 1988)
File:Atlantic Terminal.jpg|Looking down Platform A. A train to [[Far Rockaway (LIRR station)|Far Rockaway]] is on the right
File:Atlantic Terminal - March 2019.jpg|Looking down Platform C
File:LIRR Flatbush east stair jeh.jpg|Looking down to track level in the entry pavilion
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Lower Manhattan–Jamaica/JFK Transportation Project]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Atlantic Terminal}}
{{LIRR links|Atlantic Terminal}}
{{external media
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| image4 = [https://www.google.com/maps/contrib/103237729589375373179/place/ChIJ5c2f-a1bwokR9Izugi-zBqc/@40.6839676,-73.9772644,3a,75y,326.14h,87.15t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1s--lF4fGm0Ano%2FWMW66OFYrrI%2FAAAAAAAAj54%2Fu4NeJoQvAjYgOjLJ6iAb6l6g0j8OklWgwCLIB!2e4!3e11!6s%2F%2Flh4.googleusercontent.com%2F--lF4fGm0Ano%2FWMW66OFYrrI%2FAAAAAAAAj54%2Fu4NeJoQvAjYgOjLJ6iAb6l6g0j8OklWgwCLIB%2Fw203-h100-p-k-no%2F!7i8704!8i4352!4m6!1m5!8m4!1e2!2s103237729589375373179!3m1!1e1 Platform B]
| image5 = [https://www.google.com/maps/contrib/103237729589375373179/place/ChIJ5c2f-a1bwokR9Izugi-zBqc/@40.6839676,-73.9772644,3a,75y,331.24h,81.87t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1s-DWhmTOKRq1k%2FWMW7C912crI%2FAAAAAAAAj54%2FuifHg00IjVAO1Pbdhlqy6PrnhczrAW3_QCLIB!2e4!3e11!6s%2F%2Flh4.googleusercontent.com%2F-DWhmTOKRq1k%2FWMW7C912crI%2FAAAAAAAAj54%2FuifHg00IjVAO1Pbdhlqy6PrnhczrAW3_QCLIB%2Fw203-h100-p-k-no%2F!7i8704!8i4352!4m6!1m5!8m4!1e2!2s103237729589375373179!3m1!1e1 Platform C]
}}
* [http://www.arrts-arrchives.com/irtconn.html LONG ISLAND RAIL ROAD – I. R. T. CONNECTION 1]
* [http://www.nycsubway.org/perl/showpix?nsta=287110 NYCSubway.org's page about the terminal]

{{NYC terminals}}
{{LIRR stations navbox}}

[[Category:Long Island Rail Road stations in New York City]]
[[Category:Railroad terminals in New York City]]
[[Category:Railway stations in the United States opened in 1877]]
[[Category:Railway stations in Brooklyn]]
[[Category:Fort Greene, Brooklyn]]
[[Category:Railway stations located underground in New York (state)]]
[[Category:1877 establishments in New York (state)]]