Aqueduct Racetrack (IND Rockaway Line)
history
| division = IND Rockaway Beach
| line = IND Rockaway Line
| service_custom = (northbound only)
| connection =
| platforms = 1 side platform
| tracks = 4
| open_date = June 28, 1956 as a subway station
| passengers = 31,000
| pass_year = 2008
| pass_percent = 2.23
| rank = 422 out of 422
| next_north =
| next_south = No direct service from this station:
}}
Aqueduct Racetrack is a station on the IND Rockaway Line of the New York City Subway. Located on the west side of Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, Queens, it is served by northbound A trains but is open only on racing days from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
This station has four tracks, two of which are in revenue service. Unusually, it has only one platform, located on the northbound side, with one exit leading directly to Aqueduct Racetrack. Thus, it can only be served by northbound trains. While the station is advertised as "open racing days," some trains stop there regardless of time of day; however, this does not guarantee an exit from the station.
The Aqueduct Racetrack station has three High Entrance/Exit Turnstiles (HEETs) but does not have a staffed booth or MetroCard vending machine. Although MetroCards can be purchased at any subway station in the system, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority considers the station to be linked to the Aqueduct – North Conduit Avenue station, located approximately to the south, which has a 24-hour token booth. On the southbound platform of the Aqueduct – North Conduit Avenue station, there is an exit and passageway to Aqueduct Racetrack on the north end of the platform.
From 1959 until 1981, extra fare trains called the "Daily Double Special" and the "Aqueduct Special" ran nonstop from the lower level of the 42nd Street station in Manhattan, crossing over to the northbound platform to discharge passengers at the racetrack. The special trains were replaced by the JFK Express trains, which ran until 1990 and also stopped at Aqueduct on racing days.
Since the station has no access to the residential neighborhood to the west of the station, it solely serves Aqueduct Racetrack. Thus it is the least-used station in the New York City Subway system. 30,535 passengers used this station in 2008.
- Station Reporter — »A Rockaway
- The Subway Nut — »Aqueduct Racetrack Pictures