The Long Beach Branch is an electrified rail line and service owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. The branch begins at Valley Interlocking, just east of Valley Stream station, where it merges with the Far Rockaway Branch to continue west as the Atlantic Branch. East from there the Long Beach Branch parallels the Montauk Branch to Lynbrook station, where it turns south toward Long Beach station. Trains operating on the Long Beach Branch continue west of Valley Stream via the Atlantic Branch to Jamaica station, with most continuing on to or . In 2018, the branch recorded an annual ridership of 4,849,085 based on ticket sales, down 1% from 2017. History Origins The Long Beach Branch began as the New York and Long Beach Railroad (NY&LB) Company, operating from Lynbrook to Long Beach in 1880. The railroad's original southern terminus was along the Atlantic Ocean. The LIRR, which had just recently been acquired by entrepreneur Austin Corbin, operated the NY&LB from its inception until 1904, when it was merged with the other lines of the LIRR. At Lynbrook, trains continued west to Hunters Point, Queens, operating on tracks built by the South Side Railroad of Long Island (which had merged with the LIRR prior to the NY&LB service). In 1909, Long Beach station was moved north from the oceanfront to Reynolds Channel, where it remains today. A five-mile (8 km) extension to Point Lookout, New York owned by the Long Beach Marine Railway Company existed between 1881 and 1895. The LIRR bought the line in 1886 and continued to operate passenger service until 1895. Pennsylvania Railroad ownership The LIRR had planned to extend the Atlantic Branch north into Manhattan to meet the New York Central Railroad (NYCRR) at what is now Grand Central Terminal, while at the same time, NYCRR competitor Pennsylvania Railroad was planning to build a tunnel to a new Manhattan terminal from New Jersey. Following negotiations, the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) acquired a majority stake of the LIRR in 1900, allowing the railroads to jointly build the New York Tunnel Extension and share a Manhattan terminal at Pennsylvania Station, which opened in 1910. Also in 1910, the Long Beach Branch was extended westward from to , further integrating it with the LIRR Atlantic Branch and the PRR's new Manhattan terminal. The line was double-tracked from Valley Stream to