:Staten Island Railway

{{Main|History of the Staten Island Railway}}

File:A Map of the Staten Island Rapid Transit Company from 1885.png

The Staten Island Rail Road was incorporated on August 2, 1851, after Perth Amboy and Staten Island residents petitioned for a Tottenville-to-Stapleton rail line. The railroad was financed with a loan from Cornelius Vanderbilt, the sole Staten Island-to-Manhattan ferry operator on the East Shore, his first involvement in a railroad.{{cite book|url=http://thethirdrail.net/0201/sirt1.html|title=Staten Island Rapid Transit, 1860–1965|last1=Leigh|first1=Irvin|last2=Matus|first2=Paul|date=1965|publisher=Silver Leaf Rapid Transit|location=Brooklyn, New York|access-date=June 27, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150530063638/http://www.thethirdrail.net/0201/sirt1.html|archive-date=May 30, 2015|url-status=dead}} The line was completed to Tottenville on June 2, 1860.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f338CQAAQBAJ&q=staten+island+rapid+transit&pg=PA7|title=Staten Island Rapid Transit Images of Rail|last=Pitanza|first=Marc|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|year=2015|isbn=978-1-4671-2338-9|location=Charleston, South Carolina}}{{Rp|7}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qfZ0VxuLoc0C|title=The Wheels That Drove New York: A History of the New York City Transit System|last1=Roess|first1=Roger P.|last2=Sansome|first2=Gene|date=2013|publisher=Springer Science+Business Media|isbn=978-3-642-30484-2|location=New York, New York|access-date=October 4, 2015}}{{Rp|225}} Under the leadership of Vanderbilt's brother, Jacob H. Vanderbilt, the Staten Island Rail Road took over several independent ferries.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27276614/newyork_tribune/|title=Ferry Boats Old And New|date=September 3, 1899|work=New York Daily Tribune|access-date=January 16, 2019}} The Staten Island Railway and ferry line made a modest profit until the explosion of the ferry Westfield at Whitehall Street Terminal on July 30, 1871.{{Rp|7}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1xFtQGUUaxYC&q=staten+island+railway&pg=PA37|title=Royal Blue Line: The Classic B&O Train Between Washington and New York|last1=Harwood|first1=Herbert H.|date=2002|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press|isbn=978-0-8018-7061-3|location=Baltimore, Maryland|access-date=November 17, 2015}}{{Rp|36}} By July 1872, the railroad and ferry were in receivership. On September 17, 1872, the company was sold to George Law in foreclosure.{{Rp|225–228}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m-kTAAAAYAAJ&q=february+23,+1886+st.+george+staten+island+rapid+transit&pg=PA463|title=Morris's Memorial History of Staten Island, New York|last=Morris|first=Ira|publisher=Memorial Publishing Company|year=1900|volume=2|location=West New Brighton, New York|oclc=923774320}}{{Rp|462}} The following April 1, the Staten Island Rail Road was transferred to the Staten Island Railway Company.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1QmIp5f4atgC&q=march+20%2C+1873+george+law&pg=PA1255|title=Report of the Public Service Commission For the First District of the State of New York For the Year Ending December 31, 1913|date=1913|publisher=New York Public Service Commission|location=Albany, New York|language=en|oclc=82958977}}{{Rp|1255}}

By 1880 the railway was barely operational, and New York State sued (through Attorney General Hamilton Ward) to dissolve the company in May of that year.{{Rp|229}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1880/05/14/archives/a-railroad-charter-in-peril.html|title=A Railroad Charter in Peril|date=May 14, 1880|work=The New York Times|access-date=April 23, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}} Erastus Wiman, one of the island's most prominent residents, organized the Staten Island Rapid Transit Company (SIRT) on March 25, 1880, and partnered with the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (B&O) to build a large rail terminal on the island and centralize the six-to-eight ferry landings.{{Rp|7}}{{Rp|7}}{{Rp|37}} He secured an extension on a land-purchase option from George Law by offering to name it "St. George" after him.{{Cite book|url=http://www.nyc.gov/html/lpc/downloads/pdf/reports/ST._GEORGE_HISTORIC_DISTRICT.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180316223240/http://www.nyc.gov/html/lpc/downloads/pdf/reports/ST._GEORGE_HISTORIC_DISTRICT.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 16, 2018|title=St. George Historic District Staten Island|date=July 19, 1994|publisher=New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission|location=New York, New York|oclc=35087982}}{{Rp|4}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yvEsrztpAWIC&q=saint+george+george+law+staten+island&pg=PA8|title=St. George|last1=Goldfarb|first1=David|last2=Ferreri|first2=James G.|date=2009|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|isbn=978-0-7385-6252-0|location=Charleston, South Carolina|language=en}}{{Rp|8}}

File:Baltimore & Ohio Viaduct Under Construction Over the Arthur Kill Connecting Staten Island and New Jersey.png, between Staten Island and New Jersey]]

Construction of the Vanderbilt's Landing-to-Tompkinsville portion of the North Shore Branch began on March 17, 1884,{{Rp|230}}{{Rp|37}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1884/03/18/archives/city-and-suburban-news-newyork-brooklyn-long-island-staten-island.html|title=City and Suburban News; New-York. Brooklyn. Long Island. Staten Island. Westchester County. New-Jersey.|date=March 18, 1884|work=The New York Times|access-date=April 23, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}} and the line opened for passenger service on August 1 of that year.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1884/08/13/archives/city-and-suburban-news-newyork-brooklyn-long-island-staten-island.html|title=City and Suburban News; New-York. Brooklyn. Long Island. Staten Island. New-Jersey.|date=August 13, 1884|work=The New York Times|access-date=April 23, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}} The lighthouse just above Tompkinsville impeded the line's extension to St. George but, after the SIRT lobbied for an act of Congress, construction of a two-track, {{convert|580|ft|m|adj=on}} tunnel under the lighthouse began in 1885 for about $190,000.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IswpAQAAMAAJ&q=february+23,+1886+st.+george+staten+island+rapid+transit&pg=PA691|title=History of Richmond County (Staten Island), New York: From Its Discovery to the Present Time, Part 1|last=Preston|first=L. E.|publisher=Memorial Publishing Company|year=1887|location=New York, New York|oclc=361409734}}{{Rp|690}} The SIR was leased to the B&O for 99 years in 1885.{{Rp|7–8}}{{Rp|230}}{{Rp|37}} Proceeds of the lease were used to complete the terminal at Saint George, pay for two miles of waterfront property, complete the Rapid Transit Railroad, build a bridge over the Kill Van Kull at Elizabethport, and build other terminal facilities.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1885/11/22/archives/affairs-of-railroads-the-baltimore-and-ohio-railroad-to-enter.html|title=Affairs of Railroads; the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad to Enter New-York. Mr. Garrett Leases the Staten Island Rapid Transit Railroad and Will Connect His Road with That System.|date=November 22, 1885|work=The New York Times|access-date=April 23, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}} The North Shore Branch opened for service on February 23, 1886, to Elm Park.{{Rp|690}} The Saint George terminal opened on March 7, 1886, and all SIR lines were extended to the station.{{Rp|231}}{{Rp|37}} The remainder of the North Shore Branch, to its terminus at Erastina, was opened in the summer of 1886. On January 1, 1888, the South Beach Branch opened for passenger service to Arrochar.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IjpNAQAAMAAJ&q=staten+island%5C|title=Sixth Annual Report of the Board of Railroad Commissioners of the State of New York for the Fiscal Year Ending September 30, 1888|date=January 14, 1889|publisher=New York State Board of Railroad Commissioners|location=Albany, New York|language=en}}{{Rp|257–258}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1888/09/01/archives/staten-island-improvements.html|title=Staten Island Improvements|date=September 1, 1888|work=The New York Times|access-date=April 23, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}} In 1893, the South Beach Branch was extended from Arrochar to a new terminal at South Beach.{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/poorsmanualofrai18newyuoft|title=Poor's Manual of Railroads|publisher=American Bank Note Company|year=1895|location=New York, New York|pages=[https://archive.org/details/poorsmanualofrai18newyuoft/page/340 340]}} The new lines opened by the B&O were known as the Staten Island Rapid Transit Railway, and the original line (from Clifton to Tottenville) was called the Staten Island Railway.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xthCAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA159|title=Moody's Analyses of Investments. Part I, Steam Railroads|last=Moody|first=John|date=1915|publisher=Moody's Investors Service|location=New York, New York|oclc=8153859|access-date=November 3, 2015}}

In 1886, Congress passed a law authorizing the construction of a {{convert|500|ft|m|adj=on}} swing bridge over Arthur Kill, after three years of effort by Wiman.{{cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1888/06/14/106325591.pdf|title=The Largest Drawbridge: Completion of the Big Span Across the Arthur Kill|date=June 14, 1888|work=The New York Times|access-date=July 3, 2015|issn=0362-4331}} The bridge was completed three days early, on June 13, 1888, at 3 p.m.{{cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1888/09/01/106191260.pdf|title=Staten Island Improvement|date=September 1, 1888|work=The New York Times|access-date=July 3, 2015|issn=0362-4331}} The Arthur Kill Bridge was the world's largest drawbridge when it opened, and there were no fatalities in its construction. In 1889, construction began on the Baltimore and New York Railway— {{convert|5.25|mi|km||abbr=|adj=mid}} line from Arthur Kill to the Jersey Central at Cranford, and was finished later in the year. On January 1, 1890, the first train operated from St. George Terminal to Cranford Junction.{{Rp|8}}{{cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1890/01/02/106037139.pdf|title=Over The New Bridge: A Train Runs From Staten Island to New Jersey|date=January 2, 1890|work=The New York Times|access-date=July 3, 2015|issn=0362-4331}}{{cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1888/06/14/106325591.pdf|title=The Largest Drawbridge: Completion of the Big Span Across the Arthur Kill|date=June 14, 1888|work=The New York Times|access-date=July 3, 2015|issn=0362-4331}} When the Arthur Kill Bridge was completed, the United States War Department was unsuccessfully pressured by the Lehigh Valley and Pennsylvania Railroads to have the newly built bridge replaced with a bridge with a different design; according to the railroads, it was an obstruction to navigation of the large numbers of coal barges past Holland Hook on Arthur Kill. In 1897, the terminal at Saint George (which served the railroad and the ferry to Manhattan) was completed.

Improvements were made to the SIRT after the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) took control of the B&O in 1900,{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IEPCqQErPHAC&q=staten+island&pg=PA166|title=History of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad|last1=Stover|first1=John F.|date=1995|publisher=Purdue University Press|isbn=978-1-55753-066-0|location=West Lafayette, Indiana|access-date=November 1, 2015}}{{Rp|194–195, 199–200}} after which the B&O became profitable again.{{cite web|url=http://jcrhs.org/B&O.html|title=The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in New Jersey|last1=Bommer|first1=Edward|date=July 3, 2004|website=jcrhs.org|publisher=Jersey Central Railway Historical Society Chapter|access-date=December 17, 2015}}{{Better source needed|date=January 2019}} On October 25, 1905, New York City took ownership of the ferry and terminals and evicted the B&O from the Whitehall Street terminal. The St. George Terminal was then built by the city for $2,318,720, {{Inflation|US|2318720|1906|fmt=eq}}.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=80UdAAAAIAAJ&q=$2,318,720+saint+george+terminal|title=The Staten Island Ferry|last=Hilton|first=George Woodman|date=1964|publisher=Howell-North Books|location=Berkeley, California|pages=29|language=en|oclc=639351783}}

In anticipation of a tunnel under the Narrows to Brooklyn and a connection there with the BMT Fourth Avenue Line of the New York City Subway, the SIRT electrified its lines with third rail power distribution and cars similar to those of the Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT).{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1925/07/02/archives/opens-new-service-on-electrified-line-staten-island-marks-end-of.html|title=Opens New Service on Electrified Line; Staten Island Marks End of Steam Locomotives on Perth Amboy Division. Lunch Leads Ceremony Commends B. & O. for Prompt Action in Obeying the Law – Galloway Asks Cooperation.|date=July 2, 1925|work=The New York Times|access-date=August 13, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}} The first electric train was operated on the South Beach Branch between South Beach and Fort Wadsworth on May 30, 1925, and the other branches were electrified by November of that year.{{cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1925/05/31/101667454.pdf|title=Electrical Rapid Transit Begins On Staten Island|date=May 31, 1925|work=The New York Times|access-date=November 11, 2015|issn=0362-4331}} Electrification did not greatly increase traffic, and the tunnel was never built.{{cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1895/10/23/106069860.pdf|title=Baltimore and Ohio to Operate on Staten Island|date=October 23, 1895|work=The New York Times|access-date=July 14, 2011|issn=0362-4331}} During the 1920s, a branch line along Staten Island's West Shore was built to haul building materials for the Outerbridge Crossing.{{Rp|111}} The branch was cut back to a point south of the crossing after the bridge was built. The Gulf Oil Corporation opened a dock and tank farm along Arthur Kill in 1928; to serve it, the Travis Branch was built south from Arlington Yard into the marshes of the island's western shore to Gulfport in the early 1930s.{{Rp|41}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27276852/clarionledger/|title=Staten Island Is To Be Oil Center Standard and Gulf Companies Engage in Large Developments There|date=June 19, 1930|work=Clarion-Ledger|access-date=January 16, 2019|location=Jackson, Mississippi}}

The Port Richmond–Tower Hill viaduct, the nation's largest grade-crossing-elimination project, was completed on February 25, 1937. The viaduct, more than a mile long, spanned eight grade crossings on the SIRT's North Shore Branch and was the final part of a $6 million grade-crossing-elimination project on the island which eliminated thirty-four crossings on its north and south shores.{{cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1937/02/26/94340516.pdf|title=Staten Island Opens Mile-Long Viaduct; Thirty-Four Grade Crossings Are Eliminated|date=February 26, 1937|work=The New York Times|access-date=November 11, 2015|issn=0362-4331}}

{{Rail freight|1925|67|1944|81|1960|37|1967|38|title=Revenue-passenger traffic, in millions of passenger miles|float=right}}Freight and World War II traffic helped pay some of the SIRT's accumulated debt, and the line was briefly profitable in the 1940s. All East Coast military-hospital trains were handled by the SIRT during the war, and some trains stopped at Staten Island's Arlington station to transfer wounded soldiers to a large military hospital. The need to transport war materiel, POW trains and troops made the stretch of the Baltimore & New York Railway between Cranford Junction and Arthur Kill extremely busy. The B&O also operated special trains for important officials, such as Winston Churchill.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4w0MAAAAYAAJ&q=winston+churchill|title=Staten Island: Gateway to New York|last=Smith|first=Dorothy Valentine|date=1970|publisher=Chilton Book Company|isbn=978-0-8019-5488-7|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|pages=217|language=en}} On June 25, 1946, a fire destroyed the St. George Terminal; three people were killed, twenty-two were injured and damage totaled $22 million.{{Rp|239}} The fire destroyed the ferry terminal, the four slips used for service to Manhattan and the SIRT terminal.{{cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1946/06/26/107140534.pdf|title=Staten Island Fire Wrecks Ferry Terminal, Kills 3; Damage Put at $2,000,000: 22 Go to Hospitals|date=June 26, 1946|work=The New York Times|access-date=July 5, 2015|issn=0362-4331}}{{cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1946/06/27/107141213.pdf|title=Staten Island Fire Still Smoldering: City Acts to Vote $3,000,000 to Start Work on Terminal Costing $12,000,000|date=June 27, 1946|work=The New York Times|access-date=July 5, 2015|issn=0362-4331}} Normal service was not restored until July 13, 1946, and a request for bids to build a temporary terminal was issued on August 21 of that year. On February 10, 1948, a replacement terminal was promised by Mayor William O'Dwyer. The new $23 million terminal opened on June 8, 1951, with ferry, bus and rail service in one building; portions of the new terminal were phased into service earlier.{{Rp|240}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XdyRBAAAQBAJ&q=saint+george+terminal+1951&pg=PA55|title=Staten Island Ferry|last=Museum|first=Staten Island|date=September 1, 2014|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|isbn=978-1-4396-4706-6|location=Charleston, South Carolina|language=en}}{{Rp|55}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cFR56pF1JaUC&q=1951+saint+george+terminal&pg=PA282|title=Over and Back: The History of Ferryboats in New York Harbor|last1=Cudahy|first1=Brian J.|date=January 1, 1990|publisher=Fordham University Press|isbn=978-0-8232-1245-3|location=New York, New York|page=282|access-date=October 12, 2015}}

File:SIRT map.jpg

File:Citizens Mass Meeting in Protest Against Discontinuance of Passenger Service on North Shore and South Beach Rapid Transit Lines March 17, 1953.jpg

Ridership decreased from 12.3 million in 1947 to 4.4 million in 1949 as passengers switched from the rail line to city-operated buses due to a bus-fare reduction.{{Cite journal|date=August 11, 1952|title=Staten Island–Laboratory Experiment In Socialized Transportation: How Below-Cost Competition From Money-Losing City Buses Has Made Impossible Continued Private Operation of Rail Passenger Service In New York's Island Borough|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s3hCAQAAIAAJ&q=million+passengers+staten+island|journal=Railway Age|location=New York, New York|volume=133|pages=58–63}} In September 1948, about half of weekday trains were cut, night trains after 1:29 a.m. were cancelled, and thirty percent of the company's employees were laid off.{{cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1948/09/03/96695112.pdf|title=PSC Fails to Prevent S.I. Rail Service Cut|date=September 3, 1948|work=The New York Times|access-date=July 5, 2015|issn=0362-4331}}{{cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1948/09/06/88126188.pdf|title=Road Cuts Service On Staten Island: Non-Rush-Hour Schedules Are Reduced by 50 % – Some Night Trains Taken Off|date=September 6, 1948|work=The New York Times|access-date=July 5, 2015|issn=0362-4331}}{{cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1948/09/09/85270006.pdf|title=Staten Islanders Protest Train Cuts: Led by Borough President Hall, They Charge Overcrowding With Curtailed Service|date=September 9, 1948|work=The New York Times|access-date=July 5, 2015|issn=0362-4331}} After backlash, service was slightly increased.{{cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1948/09/14/85273171.pdf|title=Train Service Added For Staten Island|date=September 14, 1948|work=The New York Times|access-date=July 5, 2015|issn=0362-4331}} On September 22, the Interstate Commerce Commission allowed the SIRT to abandon the ferry it had operated for 88 years between Tottenville and Perth Amboy, New Jersey, and the ferry operation was transferred to Sunrise Ferries of Elizabeth, New Jersey on October 16.{{cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1948/09/23/94650358.pdf|title=Ferry To Change Hands: Staten Island Rapid Transit Facility to be Run by Lessee|date=September 23, 1948|work=The New York Times|access-date=July 5, 2015|issn=0362-4331}}{{cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1948/09/30/96598848.pdf|title=Ferry Line To Change Hands|date=September 30, 1948|work=The New York Times|access-date=July 5, 2015|issn=0362-4331}} SIRT discontinued passenger service on the North Shore Branch and the South Beach Branch at midnight on March 31, 1953, due to competition from city-operated buses; the South Beach Branch was abandoned shortly afterwards, and the North Shore Branch continued to carry freight.{{cite book|title=The Historical Guide to North American Railroads: Histories, Figures, and Features of more than 160 Railroads Abandoned or Merged since 1930|last=Drury|first=George H.|publisher=Kalmbach Publishing|year=1994|isbn=978-0-89024-072-4|location=Waukesha, Wisconsin|pages=312–314}} On September 7, 1954, SIRT applied to discontinue passenger service on the Tottenville Branch on October 7 of that year;{{cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1954/09/08/93408394.pdf|title=Staten Island Line Would Cease Runs: Railway Renews Bid to End All Passenger Service–Rejects Transit Union Plan|last1=Ingalls|first1=Leonard|date=September 8, 1954|work=The New York Times|access-date=October 11, 2015|issn=0362-4331}} a large city subsidy allowed passenger service on the branch to continue.

In 1956, work began on the replacement of the Arthur Kill swing bridge by a single-track, {{Convert|558|feet|meters|adj=on}} vertical-lift bridge, which opened in August 1959.{{Rp|135}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1959/08/26/archives/new-bridge-opens-over-arthur-kill-b-o-verticallift-span-largest-of.html|title=New Bridge Opens Over Arthur Kill; B. & O. Vertical-Lift Span, Largest of Kind in World, Crossed by First Train|last=Bamberger|first=Werner|date=August 26, 1959|work=The New York Times|access-date=January 16, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}} The prefabricated, 2,000-ton bridge was floated into place.{{Rp|8}} The new bridge could rise {{Convert|135|feet|meters}} and, since it aided navigation on Arthur Kill, the federal government assumed 90% of the project's $11 million cost. Freight trains started crossing the bridge when it opened on August 25, 1959.{{Rp|349}} The Travis Branch was extended in 1958 to a new Consolidated Edison power plant in Travis (on the West Shore), allowing coal trains from West Virginia to serve the plant.{{Rp|8}}

Operation of the Tottenville line was turned over to the Staten Island Rapid Transit Operating Authority (a division of the state's Metropolitan Transportation Authority) on July 1, 1971, and the line was purchased by the city of New York.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26476117/ronan_adds_lemon_to_his_loser_brew/|title=Ronan Adds Lemon To His Loser Brew|last=Mazza|first=Frank|date=July 30, 1971|work=New York Daily News|access-date=January 16, 2019|pages=36}} As part of the agreement, freight on the line would continue to be handled by the B&O under the Staten Island Railroad.{{Rp|9}} The first six R44 cars (the same as the newest cars then in use on the subway lines in the other boroughs) were put into SIRT service on February 28, 1973, replacing the ME-1 cars which had been in service since 1925.{{cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1973/03/01/79846524.pdf|title=S.I 'Toonerville Trolley' Gets New Cars|date=March 1, 1973|work=The New York Times|access-date=July 8, 2015|issn=0362-4331}} Between 1971 and 1973, a project began to extend the high-level platforms at six stations.{{cite book|title=1968–1973, The Ten-Year Program at the Halfway Mark|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|year=1973|location=New York, New York|hdl=2027/mdp.39015023095485|oclc=25043775}}{{Rp|11–12, 49, 52}} A station-rebuilding program began in 1985, and the line's R44s were overhauled starting in 1987.{{Cite news|title=SIRT Keeps Rolling Along. Rebuilding Program Nearing Completion|date=April 18, 1993|work=Staten Island Advance}}

File:STATEN ISLAND RAPID TRANSIT, PART OF THE NEW YORK SUBWAY SYSTEM, CONNECTS THE SMALL TOWNS OF THE BOROUGH OF RICHMOND - NARA - 547842.jpg

The B&O became part of the larger Chessie System in a merger with the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O), and the island's freight operation was renamed the Staten Island Railroad Corporation in 1971.{{Rp|174}} The B&O and C&O became isolated from their other properties in New Jersey and Staten Island with the creation of Conrail on April 1, 1976, in a merger of bankrupt lines in the northeastern U.S. Their freight service now terminated in Philadelphia, but for several years afterward B&O locomotives and one B&O freight train a day ran to Cranford Junction.{{Rp|174}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BqZuYcaRoCkC&q=%22april+1,+1976%22+%22conrail%22+%22staten+island%22|title=ConRail Authorization, Fiscal Year 1979: Hearings Before the Subcommittee on Transportation and Commerce of the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, House of Representatives, Ninety-fifth Congress, Second Session, on H.R. 11492 ... April 11, 12, and 17, 1978|last=Commerce|first=United States Congress House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce Subcommittee on Transportation and|date=1978|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|pages=107, 134|language=en}} In 1973, the Jersey Central's car float yard was closed;{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SbhIAQAAIAAJ&q=Since+1973,+there+has+been+no+CNJ+carfloating+activity|title=Recent Tanker Accidents: Hearings Before the Committee on Commerce, United States Senate, Ninety-fifth Congress, First Session ...|last=Commerce|first=United States Congress Senate Committee on|date=1977|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|pages=229|language=en}} however, the B&O's car-float operation was later brought back to Staten Island at Saint George Yard, after having ended in September 1976. This car-float operation was taken over by the New York Dock Railway in September 1979, and ended the following year.{{Rp|173}}

Only a few isolated industries on Staten Island continued to use rail services, and the yard at Saint George was essentially abandoned.{{Rp|9}} In April 1985, as a result of a decline in freight traffic, the Chessie System sold the Staten Island Railway to the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway (NYS&W), a Delaware Otsego (DO) subsidiary, for $1.5 million via a promissory note payable for over ten years.{{Cite magazine |last=Hartley |first=Scott |date=January 1988 |title=Regionals In Review – The Delaware Otsego Story |url=https://www.trains.com/trn/magazine/archive-access/trains-january-1988/ |url-access=limited |access-date=October 8, 2024 |magazine=Trains |publisher=Kalmbach Publishing |page=34 |pages= |volume=48 |issue=3}} The NYS&W subsequently retained the Staten Island's freight operations, which served only ten customers by that time, and they had hopes of attracting more to boost profitability on the line. In 1989, the NYS&W embargoed the trackage east of Elm Park on the North Shore Branch, ending all freight service to Saint George.

Procter & Gamble, the line's primary customer, closed in 1990, resulting in a further decline in freight traffic. On July 25, 1991, the Arthur Kill Bridge was removed from service, and the line's final freight train operated on April 21, 1992.{{Cite book |last=Tupaczewski |first=Paul R. |title=New York, Susquehanna and Western In Color |publisher=Morning Sun Books, Inc. |year=2002 |isbn=1-58248-070-2 |location=Scotch Plains, New Jersey |pages=114}} The North Shore Branch and the Arthur Kill Bridge were then taken over by Chessie's successor, CSX Transportation (CSX). The line and bridge were sold again in 1994 to the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), followed by a decade of false starts.{{Rp|9}}

SIRT was transferred from the New York City Transit Authority's Surface Transit Division to its Department of Rapid Transit on July 26, 1993,{{Cite news|title=SIRT Switched From One Division To Another. T.A. Reorganization Leaves Bus Service Without Manager|date=July 27, 1993|work=Staten Island Advance}} and that year the Dongan Hills station became accessible, making it compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.{{Cite news|title=Island Disabled Subject of SIRT Station Hearing. MTA To Discuss Dongan Hills Plans|date=April 25, 1992|work=Staten Island Advance}} MetroCards were accepted for fare payment at the St. George station beginning on March 31, 1994, and the station became the 50th MTA rapid transit station to accept them.{{Cite news|title=MetroCard Christened at St. George Station. Transit Officials Say Ferry Is Next In Line For New Fare System|date=April 1, 1994|work=Staten Island Advance}} The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) restored the line's original name on April 2 of that year as the MTA Staten Island Railway (SIR).{{Rp|9}}{{Cite news|title=It's Island Railway, Not Rapid Transit. MTA Has New Names For Its Transportation Systems. Out With the Old In With the New|date=April 2, 1994|work=Staten Island Advance}} On July 4, 1997, the MTA eliminated fares for travel between Tompkinsville and Tottenville as part of the year's "One City, One Fare" fare reductions.{{Cite news|title=Staten Island Railway Traverses Our Borough|date=April 29, 2001|work=Staten Island Advance}} United Transportation Union Local 1440, the union representing SIR employees, was concerned about the fare reduction in part because of an expected increase in ridership.{{Cite news|title=S.I. Railway: More May Ride Train For Free And That Has Workers Worried|date=April 10, 1997|work=Staten Island Advance}} No turnstiles were installed at the other stations on the line, and passengers at St. George began paying when entering and exiting;{{Cite news|title=Free Rides To Most Stations On Staten Island Railway. Only Those Who Enter And Leave At St. George Pay For The Commute|date=April 26, 1998|work=Staten Island Advance}} fares had previously been collected on board by the conductor.{{Cite news|title=Railway Riders Will Pay Only At St. George. On-Board Collection Will Be Eliminated As Line Joins The City's One-Fare System July 4|date=May 14, 1997|work=Staten Island Advance}} The removal of fares was blamed for an immediate spike in crime along the line.{{Cite news|title=Free Ride to Commit a Crime. Elimination of Fare For Most on the Staten Island Railway Allows Trouble-Causing Youths to Get On and Off at Will|date=August 22, 1999|work=Staten Island Advance}} Three afternoon express trains were added to the schedule on April 7, 1999, nearly doubling the previous express service. The express trains skipped stops between St. George and Great Kills.{{Cite news|title=3 Additional Express Runs Begin Tonight on Railway. New Trains Almost Double The Evening Express Service From St. George to Great Kills|date=April 7, 1999|work=Staten Island Advance}} A several-hundred-foot section of the easternmost portion of the North Shore Branch was reopened for passenger service to the Richmond County Bank Ballpark, home of the Staten Island Yankees minor-league baseball team, on June 24, 2001; the service was discontinued on June 18, 2010.{{cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/mta/news/books/docs/NYCT_2010_Service_Reduction_Evaluation.pdf|title=Evaluation of 2010 Service Reductions|date=September 23, 2011|website=mta.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=December 16, 2015}} A new station building at Tompkinsville opened on January 20, 2010, with turnstiles installed to prevent passengers from exiting (free of charge) at Tompkinsville and walking the short distance to the St. George ferry terminal.

Although the Staten Island Railway originally consisted of three lines, only the north-south Main Line is in passenger service. It has been grade-separated from all roads since the 1960s, but runs more or less at street level for a brief stretch north of Clifton, between the Grasmere and Old Town stations, and from south of the Pleasant Plains station to Tottenville—the end of the line. The terminus at St. George provides a direct connection with the Staten Island Ferry.{{cite web |url=http://web.mta.info/nyct/service/SIR_railway_ferry.htm |title=The Railway and the Ferry Connection |date=October 2015 |website=mta.info |publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=August 10, 2017}} St. George has twelve tracks, ten of which are in service. Tottenville has a three-track yard to the east of the station, which itself has two tracks and an island platform.{{NYCS const|trackref|doughtery}}{{rp|102}}

{{Multiple image

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|image1=MTA Staten Island Railway local train at Oakwood Heights.jpg

|caption1=R44 train at Oakwood Heights, bound for Tottenville

|image2= Kawasaki R211S Local Inaugural Round Trip @ Bay Terrace - October 2024.jpg

|caption2=R211S train at Bay Terrace, bound for Saint George on its first day of service

|image3=Staten Island Railway 777.jpg

|caption3=BL20G #777 at Tottenville

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Rolling stock consists of modified R44 subway-type cars built in early 1973,{{Rp|53}} added to the end of the R44 order of subway cars for New York City Transit; they were the last cars built by the St. Louis Car Company.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6WFHNSXBpocC&q=Gene+SANSONE+subway+cars|title=New York Subways: An Illustrated History of New York City's Transit Cars|last=Sansone|first=Gene|date=October 25, 2004|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press|isbn=978-0-8018-7922-7|location=Baltimore, Maryland|pages=257|language=en}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BjpPAAAAMAAJ&q=R44|title=The History of the St. Louis Car Company, "Quality Shops"|last1=Young|first1=Andrew D.|last2=Provenzo|first2=Eugene F. Jr.|date=1978|publisher=Howell-North Books|isbn=978-0-8310-7114-1|location=Berkeley, California|pages=284|language=en}} They are being replaced by seventy-five R211S subway cars manufactured by Kawasaki Railcar Manufacturing,{{cite web | last=Matteo | first=Mike | title=Staten Island Railway to get new cars by end of year, but some feel we don't deserve them | website=silive | date=June 26, 2024 | url=https://www.silive.com/news/2024/06/staten-island-railway-to-get-new-cars-by-end-of-year-but-some-feel-we-dont-deserve-them.html | access-date=June 26, 2024}}{{cite web | last=Khalifeh | first=Ramsey | title=Staten Island Railway to get new trains for first time in 50 years | website=Gothamist | date=June 24, 2024 | url=https://gothamist.com/news/staten-island-railway-to-get-new-trains-for-first-time-in-50-years | access-date=October 6, 2024}} which entered service on October 8, 2024.{{cite web | last=Brachfeld | first=Ben | title=New R211 subway cars roll into service on Staten Island Railway | website=amNewYork | date=October 8, 2024 | url=https://www.amny.com/transit/new-r211-subway-cars-staten-island-railway/ | access-date=October 8, 2024}}{{cite web | last=Matteo | first=Mike | title=New Staten Island Railway cars: First train takes inaugural ride Tuesday | website=silive | date=October 8, 2024 | url=https://www.silive.com/news/2024/10/new-staten-island-railway-cars-first-train-takes-inaugural-ride-tuesday.html | access-date=October 8, 2024}} The line also has four BL20G locomotives manufactured by Brookville, which were delivered in 2009 and are used for work service.{{cite book | last=Pitanza | first=Marc | title=Staten Island Rapid Transit | publisher=Arcadia Publishing | series=Images of America | year=2015 | isbn=978-1-4671-2338-9 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eOSsCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA120 | language=en| page=120}} Heavy maintenance is performed at NYCT's Clifton Shops, and any work unable to be done at Clifton requires the cars to be trucked over the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge to the subway's Coney Island Complex in Brooklyn. The right-of-way includes elevated, embankment and open-cut sections, as well as a tunnel near St. George.{{rp|102–103}}

The Staten Island Railway uses Baltimore & Ohio Railroad-style color position light signals dating back to its B&O days. In 2007, a $72-million project to enhance the old signal system was completed. The Signaling system was enhanced with an FRA-compliant 100 Hz, track-circuit-based automatic train control (ATC) signal system. As part of the project, forty R44 subway cars and four locomotives were modified with onboard cab signaling equipment for ATC bi-directional movement. A new rail control center and backup control center were built as part of the project.{{cite web |url=http://www.transitresources.net/hts_sir2012.pdf |title=Staten Island Signal Modernization |publisher=Transit Resources |access-date=December 16, 2015}} The line uses NYC Transit-standard 600 V DC third-rail power.{{Cite journal|date=May 17, 1924|title=Staten Island Line to Electrify|url=https://archive.org/details/electricrailwayj632mcgrrich|journal=Electric Railway Journal|location=New York, New York|volume=63|issue=20|pages=776–777|oclc=990315014}} Trains run up to {{convert|45|mph}} in passenger service, although trains are limited to {{convert|10|mph}} on tail tracks, sidings and in yards.{{cite web | last=Bascome | first=Erik | title=MTA looking for ways to speed up Staten Island Railway | website=silive | date=September 21, 2022 | url=https://www.silive.com/news/2022/09/mta-looking-for-ways-to-speed-up-staten-island-railway.html | access-date=November 11, 2023}}

File:Conductor 5-Car at Grant City.jpg

Demetrius Crichlow has been the railway's president and chief officer since his appointment in October 2024.{{cite web | last=Ley | first=Ana | title=MTA Promotes New Subway President, Demetrius Crichlow, After 27 Years of Service | website=The New York Times | date=October 23, 2024 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/23/nyregion/mta-subway-crichlow.html | access-date=October 23, 2024}}{{cite web | url=https://new.mta.info/press-release/mta-chair-and-ceo-janno-lieber-appoints-demetrius-crichlow-12th-president-of-new-york | title=MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber Appoints Demetrius Crichlow as the 12th President of New York City Transit }} The workforce, about 200 hourly employees, is represented by United Transportation Union Local 1440.{{Cite web|url=http://1440.utu.org/UTU_Web/|title=Proudly Serving the Riders of the MTA Staten Island Railway (SIRTOA)!|website=1440.utu.org|publisher=UTU Local 1440|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150228222845/http://1440.utu.org/UTU_Web/|archive-date=February 28, 2015|url-status=dead|access-date=April 23, 2018}}

Only the Dongan Hills, St. George, Great Kills, New Dorp and Tottenville stations have been renovated to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; these stations have elevators and/or ramps.{{cite web |url=http://web.mta.info/accessibility/stations.htm#sir |title=MTA Guide to Accessible Transit |website=mta.info |publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=April 22, 2018}} As part of the MTA's 2020–2024 capital plan, two additional stations are planned to be renovated to become ADA-accessible, Huguenot and Clifton.{{cite web |url=https://www.silive.com/news/2019/09/3-staten-island-railway-stations-to-get-accessibility-upgrades.html |title=Staten Island Railway Stations to get accessibility upgrades |website=siLive.com |publisher=Staten Island Advance|access-date=September 3, 2019}}

The Prince's Bay, Huguenot, Annadale, Great Kills, Dongan Hills, and Arthur Kill stations have park-and-ride facilities.{{NYCS const|timetable|sir}} The newest station on the Staten Island Railway, Arthur Kill, opened on January 21, 2017, and is ADA-compliant. The station is between (and has replaced) the now-demolished Atlantic and Nassau stations, which were in the poorest condition of all the stations on the line.{{cite web |url=http://web.mta.info/mta/news/books/pdf/160623_1345_CPOC.pdf |title=Capital Program Oversight Committee Meeting June 2016 |date=June 17, 2016 |website=mta.info |publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=June 17, 2016}}

On June 1, 2005, the Staten Island Rapid Transit Police Department was disbanded and its 25 railroad police officers became part of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police Department. The MTA Police Department was created in 1998 with the merger of the Long Island Rail Road Police Department and the Metro-North Railroad Police Department. The MTA Police Department then opened its newest patrol district, Police District #9, which began covering the Staten Island Railway.{{cite web |url=http://web.mta.info/mta/budget/pdf/Section%20VIIe%20-%20Agency%20Financial%20Plans%20-%20SI%20Railway,%20MTA%20Bus%20.pdf |title=MTA Staten Island Railway 2006 Preliminary Budget July Financial Plan 2006–2009 |date=July 2006 |website=mta.info |publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=August 15, 2017}}{{Cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/mta/police/about.html|title=About The MTA Police|website=mta.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=December 19, 2018}}

{{Main|New York City transit fares}}

The cash fare is $2.90, the same fare as the New York City Subway and MTA buses. Fares are paid on entry and exit only at St. George and Tompkinsville. Rides not originating or terminating at St. George or Tompkinsville are free. Fares are payable by MetroCard or OMNY. Since the card enables free transfers for a continuous ride on the subway and bus systems, for many riders there is effectively no fare for riding the SIR, as long as they do not need to make a second transfer. Riders can also transfer between a Staten Island bus, the SIR and a Manhattan bus (or subway) near South Ferry.{{cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/nyct/sir/sirfare.htm|title=MTA Staten Island Railway Fare and Transfer Information|website=mta.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=October 8, 2015}} Because of this, the SIR's 2001 farebox recovery ratio was 0.16; for every dollar of expense, 16 cents was recovered in fares (the lowest ratio of MTA agencies).{{Cite web|url=https://www.nymtc.org/Portals/0/Pdf/Regional%20Transportation%20Statistics/rtsr2002.pdf|title=Regional Transportation Statistical Report|date=January 2005|website=nymtc.org|publisher=New York Metropolitan Transportation Council|page=57|access-date=January 16, 2019}} The low farebox recovery ratio is part of the reason the MTA sought to merge the SIR with the subway to form MTA Subways in October 2002: to simplify accounting and subsidy of a single line.{{Cite news|url=https://nypost.com/2002/10/10/mta-plans-major-restructuring-job/|title=MTA Plans Major Restructuring Job|last=Mangan|first=Dan|date=October 10, 2002|work=New York Post|access-date=January 16, 2019}}

Before the 1997 introduction of the one-fare zone,{{cite web|url=http://www.nyc.gov/html/records/rwg/html/97a/me970629.html|title=Archives of Rudolph W. Giuliani Mayor's Message|last=Giuliani|first=Rudolph|date=June 29, 1997|website=nyc.gov|publisher=New York City Department of Records|access-date=December 5, 2011|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304110132/http://www.nyc.gov/html/records/rwg/html/97a/me970629.html|url-status=dead}} with the MetroCard's free transfers from the SIR to the subway system and MTA buses, fares were collected from passengers boarding at stops other than St. George by onboard conductors.{{Cite journal|last=Linder|first=Bernard|date=January 2018|title=Staten Island's 157-Year-Old Railroad|url=https://gallery.mailchimp.com/53077b4eb8363107e691b3757/files/bf1a5c1d-f35f-46da-a26f-823a73eb0fbe/January_2018_ERA_Bulletin.pdf|journal=The Bulletin|location=New York, New York|publisher=Electric Railroaders' Association|volume=61|issue=1|pages=1}} In the past, passengers had avoided paying the fare by exiting at Tompkinsville and walking a short distance to the St. George Ferry Terminal. As a result, the MTA installed turnstiles at Tompkinsville and a new station building, which opened on January 20, 2010.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/07/nyregion/thecity/07disp.html?_r=0|title=Soon, It Won't Even Pay to Walk|last=Mooney|first=Jake|date=September 7, 2008|work=The New York Times|access-date=October 8, 2015|issn=0362-4331}}

On October 23, 2017, it was announced that the MetroCard would be phased out and replaced by OMNY, a contactless fare payment system also by Cubic, with fare payment being made using Apple Pay, Google Pay, debit/credit cards with near-field communication technology, or radio-frequency identification cards.{{Cite news |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/mta-approves-plan-scrap-metrocards-tap-payment-system-article-1.3584098|title=MTA approves plan to scrap MetroCards for 'tap' payment system|last=Rivoli|first=Dan|date=October 23, 2017|work=NY Daily News|access-date=October 24, 2017 |language=en}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/23/nyregion/metrocard-subway-new-york.html|title=New York to Replace MetroCard With Modern Way to Pay Transit Fares|last=Barron|first=James|date=October 23, 2017|work=The New York Times|access-date=October 24, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}} The St. George and Tompkinsville stations, the only two Staten Island Railway stations with turnstiles, received OMNY readers in December 2019.{{cite web|last=Bascome|first=Erik|date=June 5, 2020|title=MTA: OMNY installation to be completed on time despite coronavirus outbreak|url=https://www.silive.com/coronavirus/2020/06/mta-omny-installation-to-be-completed-on-time-despite-coronavirus-outbreak.html|access-date=July 18, 2020|website=silive}}

{{See also|Rail freight transportation in New York City and Long Island|Linden Yard}}

During the early 2000s, plans to reopen the Staten Island Rapid Transit line in New Jersey were announced by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ). Since the Central Railroad of New Jersey became a New Jersey Transit line, a new junction would be built to the former Lehigh Valley Railroad. So all New England and southern freight could pass through the New York metropolitan area, two rail tunnels from Brooklyn (one to Staten Island and the other to Greenville, New Jersey) were planned.{{Cite web|url=http://www.envisionfreight.com/issues/pdf/Task_6_Case_Study_SIRR.pdf|title=Case Study: Staten Island Railroad|date=2011|website=envisionfreight.com|publisher=Transportation Research Board of the National Academies|access-date=January 16, 2019|archive-date=March 3, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303235408/http://www.envisionfreight.com/issues/pdf/Task_6_Case_Study_SIRR.pdf|url-status=dead}}

On December 15, 2004, a $72 million project to reactivate freight service on Staten Island and repair the Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge was announced by the NYCEDC and the PANYNJ. Projects on the Arthur Kill Bridge included repainting the steel superstructure and rehabilitating its lift mechanism.{{Cite news|url=http://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/347-04/mayor-michael-bloomberg-governor-george-e-pataki-reactivation-staten-island|title=Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Governor George E. Pataki Announce Reactivation of Staten Island Railroad|date=December 15, 2004|website=nyc.gov|access-date=April 23, 2018|publisher=Office of the Mayor}}{{dead link|date=November 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} In 2006, the freight line connection reopened from New Jersey to the Staten Island Railroad, including the Arthur Kill Bridge.{{cite news|title=Riding the rails into the port's future|last=Young|first=Deborah|date=October 5, 2006|newspaper=Staten Island Advance}} Regular service began on April 2, 2007 (16 years after it had closed){{Cite journal|last=Broder|first=Jonathan|date=June 2016|title=Staten Island Railroad|url=http://www.conrail.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/CRST1606.pdf|journal=Conrail Shared Track|location=Mount Laurel, New Jersey|pages=7|access-date=January 16, 2019|archive-date=January 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190116200733/http://www.conrail.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/CRST1606.pdf|url-status=dead}} to ship container freight from the Howland Hook Marine Terminal and other industrial businesses. The service at the marine terminal is part of the PANYNJ's ExpressRail system completed with of the single-track Chemical Coast connector.{{cite web | title = STATEN ISLAND RAILROAD: CHEMICAL COAST LINE CONNECTOR | newspaper = American Association of Port Authorities | date = June 14, 2007 | url = http://www.aapa-ports.org/files/PDFs/FacilitiesEngAwards/2007/2007_FacilitiesEngAwards_NYNJ.pdf | access-date = December 16, 2014}}{{cite press release | title = Mayor Bloomberg Officially Reactivates the Staten Island Railroad | publisher = City of New York | date = April 17, 2007 | url = http://www.nyc.gov/portal/site/nycgov/menuitem.c0935b9a57bb4ef3daf2f1c701c789a0/index.jsp?pageID=mayor_press_release&catID=1194&doc_name=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nyc.gov%2Fhtml%2Fom%2Fhtml%2F2007a%2Fpr112-07.html&cc=unused1978&rc=1194&ndi=1 | access-date = December 9, 2014 | archive-date = December 23, 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071223224338/http://www.nyc.gov/portal/site/nycgov/menuitem.c0935b9a57bb4ef3daf2f1c701c789a0/index.jsp?pageID=mayor_press_release&catID=1194&doc_name=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nyc.gov%2Fhtml%2Fom%2Fhtml%2F2007a%2Fpr112-07.html&cc=unused1978&rc=1194&ndi=1 | url-status = dead }} Service is provided by and Conrail Shared Assets Operations (CRCX) for its co-owners, CSX, Norfolk Southern Railway.

As part of the project, a portion of the North Shore Branch was rehabilitated, the Arlington Yard was expanded, and {{convert|6500|ft|m|0}} of new track was laid along the Travis Branch to Staten Island Transfer Station at Fresh Kills.{{cite web|url=http://www.nycedc.com/Web/AboutUs/OurProjects/CompletedProjects/StatenIslandRailroadReactivation.htm|title=Staten Island Railroad Reactivation|date=April 17, 2007|website=nycedc.com|publisher=New York City Economic Development Corporation|access-date=March 7, 2009|archive-date=August 20, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080820034509/http://www.nycedc.com/Web/AboutUs/OurProjects/CompletedProjects/StatenIslandRailroadReactivation.htm|url-status=dead}} Soon after service restarted on the line, Mayor Michael Bloomberg officially commemorated the reactivation on April 17, 2007. As of 2019, the New York City Department of Sanitation's contractor was moving containers of municipal solid waste by barge from Queens and Manhattan to the Howland Hook Marine Terminal for transfer to rail there.{{cite web |url=https://dsny.cityofnewyork.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Appendix_C_Rail_Capacity_Plan.pdf |title=Appendix C – Rail Freight Capacity Analysis For Movement Of New York City Waste |website=New York City Department of Sanitation |date=June 2018}}

Along the remainder of the North Shore Branch, there are still tracks and rail overpasses in some places.{{cite web|url=http://www.zetlin.com/Images/NSAA%202010%20NL.pdf|title=North Shore Alternatives Analysis: Public Meeting Thursday, April 22, 2010 7:00 p.m.|date=April 22, 2010|website=zetlin.com|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151006071458/http://www.zetlin.com/Images/NSAA%202010%20NL.pdf|archive-date=October 6, 2015|url-status=dead|access-date=July 31, 2015}}{{cite web|url=http://library.wagner.edu/SI_Reports/SIBoroughPresPubs/nsrr_study_complete2.pdf|title=Feasibility Study of the North Shore Railroad Right-of-Way Project Assessment Report March 2004|date=March 2004|website=library.wagner.edu|publisher=Office of the Staten Island Borough President, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, URS, SYSTRA|access-date=August 6, 2015|archive-date=October 18, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151018060138/http://library.wagner.edu/SI_Reports/SIBoroughPresPubs/nsrr_study_complete2.pdf|url-status=dead}}{{Rp|15–17}}

{{Staten Island Railway annual ridership}}

Elected officials on Staten Island, including State Senator Diane Savino, have demanded the replacement of the railway's aging R44 cars.{{cite web| url=http://www.nysenate.gov/files/pdfs/Savino%20Staten%20Island%20Railway%20Report.pdf|title=Staten Island Railway Rider Report|last1=Savino|first1=Diane J.|website=nysenate.gov|publisher=Diane Savino| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140717150225/http://www.nysenate.gov/files/pdfs/Savino%20Staten%20Island%20Railway%20Report.pdf|archive-date=July 17, 2014|url-status=dead| access-date=October 8, 2015}} Although the Metropolitan Transportation Authority initially planned to order R179s for the Staten Island Railway, it was later decided to overhaul R46s to replace the R44s.{{Cite web| url=http://www.mta.info/capitaldashboard/pdf/Milestones_Report.pdf|title=MTA Capital Program Milestones Report|date=November 2010|website=mta.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110103203205/http://www.mta.info/capitaldashboard/pdf/Milestones_Report.pdf|archive-date=January 3, 2011|url-status=bot: unknown|access-date=September 12, 2016}} However, the R46 overhaul plan was also dropped, and 75 R211S cars are replacing the R44s.{{Cite web| url=http://web.mta.info/nyct/procure/addenda/R34211add3.pdf|title=R34211 Notice -Of- Addendum Addendum #3|date=August 11, 2016|website=mta.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=August 15, 2016}}{{cite web |url=http://web.mta.info/capital/pdf/CapitalProgram2015-19_WEB%20v4%20FINAL_small.pdf |title=MTA Capital Program 2015–2019 |date=October 28, 2015 |website=mta.info |publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority |access-date=December 16, 2015}} In the meantime, the R44s are receiving intermittent rounds of scheduled maintenance to extend their usefulness until at least 2025.{{cite web |url=http://web.mta.info/mta/capital/pdf/TYN2015-2034.pdf |title=MTA Twenty-Year Capital Needs Assessment 2015–2034 |date=October 2013 |website=mta.info |publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority |access-date=December 16, 2015}}{{cite web| url=http://web.mta.info/mta/budget/pdf/2014BudgetAdoptionMaterials.pdf|title=MTA 2014 Budget and 2014–2017 Financial Plan Adoption Materials|date=November 2013|website=mta.info| publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|page=II-84|access-date=December 21, 2018}}

There has been discussion of building an in-fill station in the Rosebank neighborhood, which would bridge the longest gap between two stations (Grasmere and Clifton). The area was once home to the Rosebank station on the railway's now-defunct South Beach Branch, which was located east of the proposed station site.{{Rp|17–18}}

Several proposals have been made to connect the SIR to the subway system, including the abandoned, unfinished Staten Island Tunnel and a line along the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge using B Division cars and loading gauge, but economic, political and engineering difficulties have prevented these projects from realization.{{Cite Routes Not Taken}}{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/18/nyregion/staten-island-subway-dreams.html|title=A Subway to Staten Island? How a Transit Dream Died|last=Padnani|first=Amisha|author-link=Amy Padnani|newspaper=The New York Times| date=January 18, 2019}}

In a 2006 report, the Staten Island Advance explored the restoration of passenger service on {{convert|5.1|mi}} of the North Shore Branch between St. George and Arlington. Completion of a study is necessary to qualify the project for an estimated $360 million. A preliminary study found that ridership could reach 15,000 daily. U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer of New York requested $4 million of federal funding for a detailed feasibility study.{{Cite web|url=http://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/archives/2006/06/16/schumer-throws-support-behind-si-light-rail-system.NYC_60287.html |title=Schumer Throws Support Behind S.I. Light Rail System|date=June 16, 2006| website=ny1.com| publisher=NY1 News|access-date=April 23, 2018}} In 2012, the MTA released an analysis of North Shore transportation solutions which included proposals for the reintroduction of heavy rail, light rail or bus rapid transit using the North Shore line's right-of-way. Other options included system management, which would improve existing bus service, and the possibility of future ferry and water taxi service. Bus rapid transit was preferred for its cost ($352 million in capital investment) and relative ease of implementation. In January 2018, the project had yet to receive funding.{{cite web| url=http://web.mta.info/mta/planning/nsaa/pdfs/FinalReport.pdf| title=NYCT North Shore Alternatives Analysis: Alternatives Analysis Report|date=August 2012| website=mta.info |publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=July 20, 2015}}{{Rp|61}} As part of the 2015–2019 MTA Capital Program, $4 million was allocated for an analysis of Staten Island light rail.{{Cite web| url=http://web.mta.info/capital/pdf/WEB2015-2019Program_reduced.pdf| title=MTA Capital Program 2015–2019 Renew. Enhance. Expand. Amendment No. 2 As Proposed to the MTA Board May 2017 |date=May 24, 2017| website=mta.info| publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority |access-date=May 24, 2017}}

{{Main|List of Staten Island Railway stations}}

{{stack|File:Map Staten Island Railway en.png|{{maplink-road|frame-align=right|plain=no|frame-height=300|frame-width=300|text=Map of the SIR overlaid on a modern road map|from=Staten Island Railway.map}}}}

{{NYCS service legend

| alltimes = show

| rushonly = show

| rushpeak = show

}}

:{{asterisk}} Some local trains start at Huguenot during morning rush hours.

{{Main|North Shore Branch}}

The North Shore Branch closed to passenger service at midnight on March 31, 1953.{{cite news|title=The Old Order Passeth: Rails Surrender To Roads: Passenger Runs on Two Lines of SIRT Will End at Midnight|date=March 31, 1953|work=Staten Island Advance|page=1}} A small portion of the western end is used for freight service as part of the ExpressRail intermodal network at the Howland Hook Marine Terminal. The network, which opened in 2007, connects to the Chemical Coast after crossing the Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge.{{cite web|url=http://www.aapa-ports.org/files/PDFs/FacilitiesEngAwards/2007/2007_FacilitiesEngAwards_NYNJ.pdf|title=Staten Island Railroad: Chemical Coast Line Connector|date=June 14, 2007|website=aapa-ports.org|publisher=American Association of Port Authorities|access-date=December 16, 2014}} The North Shore Branch served Procter & Gamble, United States Gypsum,{{Cite journal|date=December 2, 1916|title=New England Plaster|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3oFHAQAAMAAJ|journal=The Traffic World|location=Chicago, Illinois|publisher=Traffic Service Corporation|volume=18|issue=23}} shipbuilders and a car float at Saint George Yard.{{Rp|173}} A smaller eastern portion, which provided seasonal passenger service to the Richmond County Bank Ballpark station (where the Staten Island Yankees played), operated from June 24, 2001, to June 18, 2010.{{cite web |url=http://www.mta.info/news/stories/?story=24 |title=MTA Board Approves Service Changes |date=March 2010 |website=mta.info |publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100328114642/http://www.mta.info/news/stories/?story=24 |archive-date=March 28, 2010 |url-status=dead |access-date=August 14, 2017 }} In 2008, restoration was discussed along the mostly abandoned {{convert|6.1|mi|km|adj=on}} line as part of the island's light-rail plan.{{cite news|url=http://www.silive.com/transportation/index.ssf/2008/07/reality_check_for_staten_islan.html|title=Reality check for Staten Island's rail plans|last=Paulsen|first=Ken|date=July 12, 2008|work=Staten Island Live|access-date=July 12, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081003175609/http://www.silive.com/transportation/index.ssf/2008/07/reality_check_for_staten_islan.html|archive-date=October 3, 2008|url-status=dead}} An environmental impact assessment is being worked on for the implementation of a bus rapid transit line on the North Shore Branch.{{Cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/mta/news/books/pdf/180723_1030_Transit.pdf|title=Transit & Bus Committee Meeting|date=July 23, 2018|website=mta.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|pages=185–186|access-date=July 23, 2018|archive-date=April 24, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190424014452/http://web.mta.info/mta/news/books/pdf/180723_1030_Transit.pdf|url-status=dead}}

File:Bard Av SIRT jeh.JPG|The abandoned North Shore Branch, with the Bayonne Bridge in the background]]

{{Main|South Beach Branch}}

The South Beach Branch opened on January 1, 1888, to Arrochar,{{Rp|257–258}} and was extended to South Beach in 1893. The branch closed at midnight on March 31, 1953. It was abandoned and demolished, except for a few segments: a concrete embankment at Clayton Street and Saint John's Avenue,{{Cite web|url=https://i2.wp.com/railfanning.org/graphics/IMG_1116.jpg?resize=600%2C338|title=Saint John's Avenue Embankment|website=railfanning.org|access-date=April 23, 2018}} the Tompkins Avenue overpass, trestle over Robin Road in Arrochar{{Cite web|url=http://www.gretschviking.net/GOSIRTPagePartTwo_files/image061.jpg|title=Robin Road Trestle in 2018|last=Owen|first=Gary|date=2018|website=gretschviking.net|access-date=April 23, 2018}} and a filled-in bridge under McClean Avenue.{{Cite web|url=http://www.gretschviking.net/GOSIRTPagePartTwo_files/image024.jpg|title=An Aerial View of the Filled in Right-of-way and the New Housing.|website=gretschviking.net|access-date=April 23, 2018}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.gretschviking.net/GOSIRTPagePartTwo_files/image030.jpg|title=The Abandoned ROW at the McClean Avenue Bridge With the Major Avenue Overpass in the Distance.|date=1964|website=gretschviking.net|access-date=April 23, 2018}} This {{convert|4.1|mi|km|adj=on}} line left the Main Line at {{Coord|40|37|08|N|74|04|18|W|type:landmark_region:US-NY}} (south of the Clifton station), and was east of the Main Line. Although the right-of-way has been redeveloped, most of it is still traceable on maps; Lily Pond Avenue is built over the right of way where it passes under the Staten Island Expressway.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m7o1AQAAMAAJ&q=S.I.R.T&pg=PA53|title=Shore Front Drive, North Shore Section, Richmond, New York City: Environmental Impact Statement|date=April 1973|publisher=Federal Highway Administration|location=Babylon, New York|pages=25, 36, 53–54|language=en}}

{{anchor|Robin Road Trestle}}The Robin Road trestle is the only remaining intact trestle along the former line. Developers purchased the land on either side of its abutments during the early 2000s, and the developers, the New York City Department of Transportation, and the New York City Transit Authority all claimed ownership. Townhouses have been built on both sides of the trestle.{{cite web|url=http://blog.silive.com/sinotebook/2008/11/permission_to_dream.html|title=Permission to Dream|last=Dominowski|first=Michael|date=December 7, 2008|website=silive.com|access-date=October 8, 2015}}

File:SIR South Beach Branch bridge vc.jpg

The Travis Branch, from Arlington Yard to Fresh Kills, runs along the island's West Shore. The branch was built in 1928 to serve Gulf Oil along the Arthur Kill, south from Arlington Yard into the marshes to Gulfport. It was extended to Travis to serve the new Consolidated Edison power plant in 1957.{{Rp|47}} In 2005, the branch was renovated and extended from the old Con Edison plant to the Staten Island Transfer Station at Fresh Kills; regular service to the transfer station began in April 2007.{{cite press release |title=Mayor Bloomberg Officially Reactivates the Staten Island Railroad |date=April 17, 2007 |publisher=New York City Mayor's Office |url=http://www.nyc.gov/html/om/html/2007a/pr112-07.html |access-date=January 28, 2010 |archive-date=December 23, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071223224338/http://www.nyc.gov/portal/site/nycgov/menuitem.c0935b9a57bb4ef3daf2f1c701c789a0/index.jsp?pageID=mayor_press_release&catID=1194&doc_name=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nyc.gov%2Fhtml%2Fom%2Fhtml%2F2007a%2Fpr112-07.html&cc=unused1978&rc=1194&ndi=1 |url-status=bot: unknown }} on December 23, 2007.

The Mount Loretto Spur is an abandoned branch whose purpose was to serve the Mount Loretto Children's Home. The spur diverged from the Main Line south of Pleasant Plains.{{Rp|110}} The B&O Railroad served the non-electrified branch, which had some industry and a passenger station, until 1950. Although its track was removed during the 1960s and 1970s, some ties were visible until the 1980s. A coal trestle is all that remains of the branch.{{Rp|15}}

South of the Richmond Valley station, a non-electrified spur, branched off the Tottenville-bound track. The spur, built in 1928, was called the West Shore Line by the B&O Railroad and delivered building materials to the Outerbridge Crossing construction site near Arthur Kill.{{Cite book|url=http://corpinfo.panynj.gov/files/uploads/documents/financial-information/annual-reports/annual-report-1929.pdf|title=Ninth Annual Report December 31, 1929|publisher=Port of New York Authority|year=1929|location=New York, New York|pages=16|access-date=April 2, 2018|archive-date=February 16, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170216144656/http://corpinfo.panynj.gov/files/uploads/documents/financial-information/annual-reports/annual-report-1929.pdf|url-status=dead}} Years later, the track was used to serve a scrapyard owned by the Roselli Brothers.{{Rp|111}} This siding went out of service on June 14, 2011.{{Cite web|url=http://www.trainsarefun.com/lirr/lirrextralist/MTA%20Transit%20Diagrams/Schematic%20Track%20%26%20Interlocking%20Diagrams%20%282019-01%29.pdf|title=Schematic Track and Interlocking Diagrams of the New York City Transit Authority, Staten Island Railway and South Brooklyn Railway|last=Erlitz|first=Jeffrey B.|date=January 2019|website=trainsarefun.com|page=295|access-date=March 15, 2019|archive-date=March 15, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190315145041/http://www.trainsarefun.com/lirr/lirrextralist/MTA%20Transit%20Diagrams/Schematic%20Track%20%26%20Interlocking%20Diagrams%20%282019-01%29.pdf|url-status=dead}} The track divided in two under Page Avenue, with the rails still in place.{{Cite web|url=https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/planning/download/pdf/applicants/env-review/eas/12dcp080r_eas.pdf|title=236 Richmond Valley Road – Staten Island, New York Environmental Assessment Statement – Analyses|date=August 29, 2014|website=nyc.gov|publisher=New York City Department of City Planning|access-date=December 14, 2017}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?59086 |title=Page Avenue Switch |last=Pitanza |first=Marc |date=January 28, 2007 |website=nycsubway.org|access-date=December 14, 2017}} The line's right-of-way, an easement on property owned by Nassau Metals, was later used by CSX.{{Rp|1–2}} Although sections of the old tracks have been removed, others remain in the overgrowth.{{Cite web|url=https://ny.curbed.com/2016/6/23/12009020/mill-creek-staten-island|title=Exploring Staten Island's changing Mill Creek|last=Kensinger|first=Nathan|date=June 23, 2016|publisher=Curbed|access-date=December 14, 2017}}

{{Portal|Railways|New York City}}

• Cross-Harbor Rail Tunnel

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Commons category|Staten Island Railway}}

{{Attached KML |display=title,inline}}

• {{Official website|https://new.mta.info/agency/staten-island-railway/}}
• {{NYCS const|traintime|SIR}}
• [https://statenisland.pastperfectonline.com/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&search_criteria=%22staten+island+rapid+transit%22&searchButton=Search SIRT artifacts in the Staten Island Historical Society Online Collections Database]

{{Staten Island Rapid Transit Operating Authority}}

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