Home/LIRR/Babylon Branch/Kew Gardens to Jamaica
Kew Gardens → Jamaica
- Travel time
- 4min
- Peak fare
- $7.25
- Off-peak
- $5.25
- Weekday trains
- 54
Trains run direct from Kew Gardens to Jamaica on the Babylon Branch, no change of train. The trip takes 3 to 5 minutes and covers 1.4 miles with 0 stops in between. There are 54 trains each weekday, roughly one every 24 minutes, with the first at 12:42 AM and the last at 12:05 AM. A one-way ticket costs $7.25 at peak and $5.25 off-peak.
In this direction the morning peak gap is about 27 minutes. Going back, Jamaica to Kew Gardens has 50 weekday trains, first at 12:50 AM and last at 11:56 PM, taking 3 to 4 minutes. See the return trip.
Updated 21 Sep 2026 · Long Island Rail Road GTFS · MTA LIRR fare chart, effective January 4 2026
The Babylon Branch runs along the South Shore of Nassau and western Suffolk, from Jamaica through Rockville Centre, Freeport and Massapequa to Babylon. It is electrified end to end, so trains run through to Penn Station, Grand Central Madison and Atlantic Terminal without a change.
Calling points
ServiceKew Gardens to Jamaica
FaresZone 1 → Zone 3
Source: MTA LIRR fare chart, effective January 4 2026.
How the pass break-even is calculated
The LIRR prices a ticket by the fare zone you start in and the zone you end in. There are eight zones in use: 1, 3, 4, 7, 9, 10, 12 and 14. Zone 1 is the Manhattan and Brooklyn terminals, Penn Station, Grand Central Madison and Atlantic Terminal, together with the stations nearest them. The zone numbers climb as you travel east, so a longer trip crosses more zones and costs more.
Peak fares apply on weekday trains scheduled to arrive at a New York terminal between 6:00 and 10:00 AM, or to leave one between 4:00 and 8:00 PM. Every other train, and every train on a weekend or holiday, is off-peak. Trips that stay entirely within zones 4 to 14, with neither end in the city, cost the same on every train.
Tickets are sold in the MTA TrainTime app, at station ticket machines and windows, and on board. Buying on board costs more than buying before you get on. Senior, disabled and Medicare fares are reduced and are not valid on weekday morning peak trains into New York. Weekly and monthly tickets cover unlimited travel between two zones for the period and are the usual choice for a five-day commute. The monthly pass break-even shown on each trip page is that pass price divided by the one-way peak fare, rounded up.
Stopping pattern
Questions
How long is the train from Kew Gardens to Jamaica?
Between 3 and 5 minutes on the published schedule; the typical run is 4 minutes, non-stop.
Do any trains skip stops?
No. All 54 weekday trains make the same stops, so the time varies only with dwell and connections.
Is it cheaper off-peak?
Yes. The one-way fare is $5.25 off-peak and $7.25 on a peak train. Weekends and holidays are off-peak all day.
When is the first and last train from Kew Gardens?
The first weekday departure is at 12:42 AM and the last at 12:05 AM. Weekends run 42 trains on Saturday and 42 on Sunday.
How often do trains run in the morning peak?
Between 6 and 10 AM the gap between departures averages about 27 minutes in this direction.
Are Kew Gardens and Jamaica accessible?
Kew Gardens is listed as not step-free and Jamaica as fully accessible in the MTA station dataset. Lift outages are not reflected here; check the operator before you travel.
Which fare zones does this trip cross?
Kew Gardens is in zone 1 and Jamaica in zone 3. The fare is set by those two zones, not by the stops in between.
Do I need to change trains?
No. Every train counted here runs direct on the Babylon Branch.