MTA Long Island Rail Road Unveils Upgraded Laurelton Station

Renovated Station Features Accessibility Upgrades and Better Wayfinding

Project Completed On Time and On Budget

View Video of the News Conference

View Photos from Today's News Conference and Renovated Station

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) today announced substantial completion of the renovation project at the Laurelton station on the Far Rockaway Branch. This renovation modernizes the station, brings it into a state of good repair and improves accessibility. The project was completed on time and on budget.

This design-build project is part of the MTA's overall goal of making all Long Island Rail Road stations ADA accessible and is part of a bundle of projects that will add seven stations to the list of accessible LIRR stations and will replace elevators/escalators at two stations that are currently accessible.

"Add Laurelton to the growing list of on-time and on-budget MTA projects," said MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber. "We brought this 119-year-old station into the 21st century with new accessibility and modern amenities for its 70,000 monthly riders - a huge success we're ready to replicate across the railroad - and the entire MTA system!"

"We were able to complete these accessibility and station upgrades while maintaining reliable service-something we always strive for on projects like this," said LIRR President Rob Free. "The customer experience will be significantly enhanced from a modernized station that is safer, more accessible, and better equipped to serve the community for years to come."

"The new MTA is delivering accessibility better, faster, and cheaper throughout our entire network," said MTA Construction & Development President Jamie Torres-Springer. "Laurelton is just the latest neighborhood to see accessibility and state of good repair upgrades completed on time and on budget."

"Riding the railroad is the fastest way into Manhattan for our customers in Southeast Queens. This accessibility project ensures all our customers can now benefit from that fast, reliable, and now accessible service from Laurelton," said MTA Chief Accessibility Officer Quemuel Arroyo. "With this project, we are telling all New Yorkers that they belong here, that we understand their needs, and will happily get them where they want to go."

Station improvements include:

• Installation of a new elevator, elevator machine room, electrical room and service upgrades, communication room, communication and safety/security systems, and elevator vestibules as required for weather protection, and other ADA and Code improvements
• ADA improvements to the parking lot and path of travel
• Construction of a new tunnel to provide access to the elevator from the street
• New sidewalks connecting paths of travel to the elevator
• Weatherproof Help Point emergency and information kiosks with equipment enclosures
• New CCTV cameras
• New station signage
• Utility relocations, including electric, signal, communications, gas, water, sewer, and storm sewer systems
• Construction of sidewalks, curb ramps, and retaining walls

The project includes $15.7 million in federal funding. Citnalta/Scalamandre, J.V. with Parsons Transportation Group is the designer with major sub-contractors including Bana Electric, Mid-American, Premier, Superior, and Welkin.

On weekdays, 42 westbound and 39 eastbound trains stop at Laurelton. On weekends the station sees 42 westbound trains and 44 heading east. In 2025, monthly ridership averaged nearly 70,000.

Laurelton customers can make connections to MTA buses including the the Q77 with service to the Jamaica Bus Terminal, and the Q85 and Q89 with service to the Green Acres Mall.

"The completion of the Laurelton accessibility project is a meaningful milestone for Southeast Queens. Laurelton is a lifeline for this community, connecting residents to jobs, schools and medical appointments and family across our region. For many people here, public transit is not optional, it's essential to daily life," said State Senator Leroy Comrie. "I especially want to thank the MTA workers for making this happen. It's great we have a project that was done by MTA workers; it shows they can build things and make things happen and bring it on time and on budget."

"Laurelton is a hub, a community, but for many of our neighbors-seniors, parents with strollers, and residents with disabilities-this station was a barrier," said Assemblymember Alicia L. Hyndman. "To the Southeast Queens community-we want people to stay here. We want people to be able to buy their homes here, and these are the attributes that make that continuous."

"The true significance of this project lies in the everyday impact it will have in our community. These improvements are not conveniences, they are necessities," said NYC Council Member Selvena Brooks-Powers. "Accessibility across our transit system ensures everyone traveling on it feels truly welcome and has access to all the incredible opportunities and sights across this great city, from Southeast Queens to the Bronx and beyond."

"For many people who call Southeast Queens home, the Long Island Rail Road is the closest and most effective means of public transportation. But for our neighbors with mobility issues, the struggle of living in a transit desert is magnified exponentially," said Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. "That makes accessibility improvements like those made at the Laurelton LIRR station so critical as we ensure every resident, regardless of ability, has equitable access to mass transit courtesy of a modernized station in their own community. Thank you to the MTA for making such a vital investment, which we will continue to replicate boroughwide."