New York Connecting Railroad

New York Connecting Railroad
Map
Overview
LocaleQueens, New York City
Dates of operation1917–present
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification12.5 kV, 60 Hz
Map of NYCR Fremont Secondary

NYCR & Amtrak NEC
via Hell Gate Bridge
Sunnyside Junction
Amtrak NEC to Penn Station
LIRR Bay Ridge Branch
to 65th Street Yard
Plaque on Hell Gate Bridge commemorating the opening of the NYCR in 1917
Viaduct arch over Astoria
Looking north from 37th Avenue
Looking south from Grand Avenue overpass

The New York Connecting Railroad (reporting mark NYCN) or NYCR is a rail line in the borough of Queens in New York City. It links New York City and Long Island by rail directly to the North American mainland. Amtrak, CSX, Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Providence and Worcester Railroad and New York and Atlantic Railway (NYAR) currently use the line. It runs from the Hell Gate Bridge over the East River to Fresh Pond Junction yard in Glendale in Queens. It was completed in 1917. Amtrak uses the northernmost section of the line from Sunnyside Junction (Bowery Bay) in the Woodside section of Queens to the Hell Gate Bridge into the Bronx from which it follows the line north to Boston.

Amtrak owns the line north of Sunnyside Junction, which forms part of the Northeast Corridor. From this point to Fresh Pond Junction CSX is the owner, with the line known as the Fremont Secondary. South of Fresh Pond, the line leads into the Bay Ridge Branch, a freight-only branch owned by the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) and operated by the New York and Atlantic Railway.