Central Branch (Long Island Rail Road)

Central Branch
LIRR #408 (EMD DE30AC) leads an eastbound service on the Central Branch in West Babylon in 2012.
Overview
Status	Operational
Owner	Long Island Rail Road
Locale	Long Island, New York, USA
Termini	Bethpage Babylon
Stations	0 (2 former)
Service
Type	Commuter and freight rail
System	Long Island Rail Road
Services	Montauk Branch
Operator(s)	Metropolitan Transportation Authority (passenger) New York and Atlantic Railway (freight)
Technical
Line length	7 miles (11 km)
Number of tracks	1
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification	None
Route map Legend Ronkonkoma Montauk via Main Ronkonkoma via Main South Farmingdale Farmingdale Track Nassau Suffolk Wellwood Siding Breslau Babylon via Montauk Montauk via Montauk

The Central Branch is a rail line owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) in the U.S. state of New York, extending from 40°44′02″N 73°28′12″W / 40.734°N 73.470°W / 40.734; -73.470 just east of Bethpage station to 40°41′46″N 73°20′28″W / 40.696°N 73.341°W / 40.696; -73.341 just west of Babylon station. It was built in 1873 as part of the Babylon Extension of the Central Railroad of Long Island (CRRLI), which was owned by Alexander Turney Stewart. The branch was mostly unused following the 1876 merger of the CRRLI and the LIRR, but in 1925 it was rebuilt and reconfigured to connect Bethpage and Babylon stations.