Flushing-Murray Hill elevator project completed

The construction of two new elevators at the Murray Hill station in Flushing has been completed, and there is now step-free access from the street to the platform at this station for the first time.  The MTA announced the project reached beneficial use on Monday.  In addition to the construction of the two elevators (one to each of the side platforms), crews also performed work on retaining walls, installed new tactile warning strips on platform edges and CCTV, and made other improvements to lighting, signage, and bird control measures.

The new elevator to the eastbound platform at Flushing-Murray Hill
(Photo: LIRR/Glen Sager)

The completion of this project at Flushing-Murray Hill marks the 107th step-free station on the LIRR system (out of 124) as the railroad inches its way towards step-free access systemwide.  The completion of this project follows the installation of elevators as part of a complete rehabilitation at Nostrand Avenue station in Crown Heights completed earlier this year and one station west at Flushing-Main Street, completed in 2018.  The MTA plans to provide step-free access at Floral Park as part of the ongoing Main Line Grade Crossing Elimination project and install elevators to make four other stations step-free as part of the 2020-2024 Capital Program (Hollis, St. Albans, Locust Manor, and Copaigue).  LIRR President Phillip Eng said in a statement that "[o]ur goal at the LIRR is to make sure every last station that needs to be upgraded to allow for full ADA-compliant accessibility happens as quickly as possible", though the railroad has yet to present a plan or timeline for complete access systemwide as the LIRR will remain about 10 stations short even with the new Capital Program.

But at Flushing-Murray Hill, along with practically every other LIRR station deemed "accessible", there is really only step-free access from the street to the platform for people with mobility impairments, as the LIRR fails to provide level boarding from the platform to the train at practically every station systemwide, falling short of true equal access for people with mobility impairments.  Because the Flushing-Murray Hill station is on a slight curve, it is practically impossible to get gaps narrow enough to allow wheelchair users to board unassisted (like everyone else) without gap fillers, which were not installed as part of the project.

A view of the westbound platform, with the new elevator
(Photo: LIRR/Glen Sager)

This project was funded as part of the MTA's 2015-2019 Capital Program.  The MTA's press release says the work "was performed on budget for $8.6 million", but the MTA's Capital Program dashboard belies that, showing the current budget for this project at $11.5 million (even the poster at the station says $11.5 million).  Whether the final cost was $8.6 million or $11.5 million, in either event the project was definitely not completed "on budget"...when the project was originally proposed and committed, the project was supposed to cost just $5.7 million, meaning the budget was actually overrun by either 51% or 102%...  Like many other station projects, this one also made it across the finish line late...while the MTA never communicated a projected completion date for the project when they committed to it as part of the original Capital Program (making the project late by default), the completion date was pushed back about 5 months during construction due to a delay in ConEd power upgrades and late delivery of the elevator cabs (which required crews to work through this pandemic to complete the project).  

And despite the installation of elevators at this station being rather straightforward (only two elevators, no real complicated heavy construction, underground work, or property acquisition), the cost of the project is well in excess of international norms.  In Berlin, the operator of the U-Bahn is installing elevators at its underground stations for only about €800,000 per elevator (which would total to about $1.7 million for this project accounting for two elevators and currency effects); in Milan the Azienda Trasporti Milanesi has been making Metro stations accessible for only about $1.5 million per station.

Flushing-Murray Hill in 1914
(Photo: LIRR valuation/D. Morrison Collection)

While the completion of the project definitely represents a substantial upgrade to the facility, like several other recently completed station projects, the railroad again has not taken steps to further standardization of platform lengths...both platforms at Flushing-Murray Hill are just four cars long, which frequently causes delays to Port Washington trains, as passengers in the eight cars that don't open at the platform have to walk forward or back to one of the west four cars.  Neither platform was extended, leaving the station platforms still too short for the trains that stop at them (just like recently renovated Nostrand Avenue and Flushing-Main Street stations).  The Port Washington Branch is in an open cut through this area, and with other properties close to the tracks on either side of the station, extending both platforms to 12-cars long would likely be difficult.  But the layout of the station is certainly curious...there is a large gap between the two tracks through this area, and while the station layout remains the same today as it did in the 1910's when the tracks were sunk through this area, the gap seems wide enough and long enough that the railroad could have built a 12-car island platform between the two tracks, to allow for access to every car (and they would only need one elevator).  The curvature of the track is of course a problem that would need gap fillers, but not more of a problem than the curvature of the existing platforms.