Fresh Pond Junction facts for kids

New York and Atlantic system map. Fresh Pond Junction is located at the top of the "J"-shaped branch, lower left.

South gate

Fresh Pond Junction is a freight yard in the Ridgewood area of Queens, New York City. It is operated by the New York & Atlantic Railway, which serves Long Island, New York using tracks owned by the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR). The yard has been in operation since the early 20th century and is the primary rail freight yard on the island.

Fresh Pond Junction connects to the mainland in two directions:

• North via the Hell Gate Bridge and the Oak Point Yard, providing interchanges with the CSX, Canadian Pacific, and Providence and Worcester railroads.
• Southwest via the Bay Ridge Branch to the New York New Jersey Rail's car float operation. Barges bring cars to Greenville Yard in New Jersey, where interchange is available to CSX and Norfolk Southern Railway using Conrail's North Jersey Shared Assets Area.

The Fresh Pond Junction freight facility comprises two yards, west (5 tracks) and east (9 tracks), both of which parallel the NY&A Montauk Branch. There is also a wye and interchange tracks with the former New York Connecting Railroad line (now CSX Freemont branch) which connects the Oak Point Yard to the Bay Ridge Branch as it passes over the yard. Nearby is Fresh Pond Yard, a separate and unconnected facility of the New York City Subway.