The Aqueduct Racetrack station is a station on the IND Rockaway Line of the New York City Subway. Located on the west side of Aqueduct Racetrack near Pitkin Avenue in Ozone Park, Queens, it is served by northbound A trains at all times. The station was built in 1959 to serve the racetrack and on racing days the station would be open with "Aqueduct Special" trains running nonstop from 42nd Street. The specials were replaced by JFK Express service, before service at the station was altogether discontinued in 1990. The station reopened in 1997. From 2011 to 2013, it was closed and rebuilt in order to provide better access to the Resorts World Casino. Aqueduct Racetrack is one of the least-used stations in the system. It was ranked 400th out of 424 by ridership , with 601,436 passengers. History Context and development The Rockaway Line was opened on August 26, 1880, by the New York, Woodhaven and Rockaway Railroad and would later be operated by the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) as its Rockaway Beach Branch. Frequent fires on the line's wooden viaduct across Jamaica Bay between The Raunt and Broad Channel made the line a liability for the LIRR. After a fire on May 8, 1950, cut service, the bankrupt LIRR sought to sell or abandon the line altogether. The city purchased the southern portion of the line in 1952. The rebuilt IND Rockaway Line opened for subway service on June 26, 1956. In 1955, the New York Racing Association (NYRA) chose to upgrade Aqueduct Racetrack in South Ozone Park in part because of its proximity to the Rockaway Beach Branch. As part of the modernization of the racetrack, the Racing Association built a station with ramps leading directly to the track and facilities that could handle racetrack crowds. Once the work was finished, it was handed over to the city. The new station was for northbound trains to Brooklyn and Manhattan, and it was built north of the existing Aqueduct station. In order to allow for the switching maneuvers required for southbound trains to stop at the station, major signal changes were made on the line. The single-platform station was built by Aqueduct Racetrack owners at the cost of $1 million. The NYRA agreed to reimburse the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) for annual expenses. The Aqueduct Racetrack station opened on September 14, 1959, on the same