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October 30, 2018
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MTA LIRR Opens Upgraded LIRR Stations at Farmingdale and WantaghRenovations, Amenities Added to These Stations Bring Variety of Customer-Focused Improvements
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Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Long Island Rail Road officials today announced the opening of two newly renovated railroad stations – at Farmingdale and Wantagh – bringing customer-focused improvements to thousands of riders. The doors to Farmingdale’s upgraded station building were opened today, while recently, the LIRR also finished a $27 million renovation project at Wantagh Station, which included platform replacements and newly installed elevator, among many other added amenities.
These projects are one piece of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s unprecedented $6.6 billion Modernization Program investment into the LIRR, with an achievable goal underway that’s set to bring the railroad into a new era of modernization and unparalleled customer experience.
"Some LIRR stations can be more than 160 years old. While we always want to celebrate and preserve our history, it’s about time we bring LIRR stations into the 21st century," MTA Chief Development Officer Janno Lieber said. “We're proving that the MTA can deliver projects faster and at lower cost than in the past.”
"The Long Island Rail Road's focus continues to be on how we can improve on the many ways customers experience our system. Along with improving train service and reliability, we want to make sure when they're at our stations, they have the comforts and amenities they're used to having at other world-class transportation outlets," LIRR President Phillip Eng said. “The attention to detail in these station renovations recognizes the important relationship between LIRR stations and the communities that surround them. LIRR stations are an ongoing part of the history and landscape of each community they serve.”
The work at Farmingdale station, which is still ongoing, is part of an $84 million, eight-station renovation package, awarded earlier this year. The work at Wantagh Station was funded through the current MTA Capital Program.
Artwork was commissioned for Wantagh Station that references the surrounding community and enhances the architecture and beauty. Details on the artist and the artwork can be found below.
Farmingdale Station
Farmingdale Station, located along the Ronkonkoma Branch in Suffolk County, serves more than 3,800 daily customers. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, this station, originally built in 1890, has long been a part of this community.
Its facade was fully restored to its original historical brick architecture, capturing and preserving its history and character. To celebrate that, historic photos will be placed alongside a commemorative plaque in remembrance of its past.
Improvements include:
Further upgrades to come:
Wantagh Station
Along the Babylon Branch, the Wantagh Station, built in 1867, was replaced with the current elevated station in 1968.
Wantagh customers -- about 6,000 each weekday -- can now wait for their trains on newly replaced platforms, which feature snow/ice melting systems to help keep them clear and safe during the winter months. In colder times, customers can take shelter inside a new heated platform waiting room.
Improvements include:
Art installation details at Wantagh:
Marc Dennis
Where Dreams Come to Play, 2017
Laminated Glass and Mosaic
Fabricated by Peters Studios and Mayer of Munich
Marc Dennis’ project at LIRR Wantagh depicts scenes of an idyllic and imaginative day at nearby Jones Beach that include colorful and realistic images of birds, beachgoers, sunsets, seashells and regional symbolism, such as the high school mascot and Jones Beach’s iconic sea horse. Highly detailed individual paintings were made for the project and translated into glass for the windows of the station. In addition to the 30 laminated glass window frames within the platform level waiting room, a pair of mosaic panels at two main stairways highlight ocean waves seen under a rising and setting sun.
Marc Dennis is a New York based artist known for his hyper-realistic paintings that celebrate the subversive potential of beauty and explore the charged subjects of identity, pleasure and decadence. He exhibits in museums and galleries and his work is in the collection of several major museums. |
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