The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has acquired more than 46 acres at a former industrial property in Port Jefferson Station for $10, preserving a possible site for future Long Island Rail Road improvements. The purchase does not mean a rail yard or electrification project has been approved, funded or scheduled.
Gov. Kathy Hochul's office said the land at 100 Sheep Pasture Road is part of the former 126-acre Lawrence Aviation site. The Suffolk County Land Bank sold the parcel to the MTA after legislation signed in July addressed a conflict between potential railroad use and protection of the Setauket-Port Jefferson Station Greenway.
The MTA wants the option to consider a yard for the Port Jefferson Branch as it evaluates longer-term modernization. A yard could support future service changes, but the governor's announcement says there are no current plans or funding for improvements that would require one.
If a yard is eventually built, the legislation assigns the state Department of Transportation responsibility for preserving the greenway by relocating it. For now, the transaction secures land and keeps the planning option open; it is not a construction notice or a change to current train service.
The property is in Suffolk County, outside the Finger Lakes service area. Its immediate effect is on a Long Island rail branch rather than local routes. Hochul said the acquisition advances both greenway preservation and the possibility of future rail upgrades.
Long Island Rail Road President Rob Free said the purchase gives the agency flexibility as it develops future capital plans. Local officials have discussed eventual electrification and expanded service, but those remain possibilities rather than committed projects.
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