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Forest Hills LIRR Station: Tickets, Crowding & On-Time Data

City Terminal Zone · Zone 1 · Accessible · From MTA open data · Not affiliated with the MTA

1,200tickets a day from here
#21of 126 LIRR stations
34%of tickets are peak fares
62%of seats taken, busiest hour

How busy is Forest Hills station?

Tickets, not riders: a monthly or weekly ticket counts once however many times it is used, and a round trip counts once.

About 1,200 tickets a day were sold for trips starting at Forest Hills (Oct 2025 – Sep 2026), the #21 most of 126 LIRR stations, and 3.4% fewer than in the 12 months before. Another 1,324 a day were sold for trips ending here.

Where do riders from Forest Hills go?

The most common destinations on tickets sold from Forest Hills, Oct 2025 – Sep 2026.

What tickets do Forest Hills riders buy?

Oct 2025 – Sep 2026, all ways of buying (TrainTime app, ticket machines and ticket windows).

34% of peak and off-peak tickets from Forest Hills were peak fares.

  • One-way
    413,941 sold    94.5%
  • Round trip
    7,514 sold    1.7%
  • 10-trip
    6,770 sold    1.5%
  • Day pass
    4,789 sold    1.1%
  • Monthly
    4,644 sold    1.1%

How crowded are trains at Forest Hills?

Average load as trains leave the station, weekdays, Jul 2026 – Sep 2026, from weight sensors on the LIRR's electric trains (M7 and M9). Diesel trains are not measured. Over 100% means people standing.

On weekdays, trains toward the city are fullest when they leave Forest Hills around 8 AM, with about 693 people on board, 62% of the seats.

Leaving atToward the cityAway from the city
12 AM7% ~74 on board20% ~158 on board
1 AM4% ~45 on board13% ~128 on board
2 AM4% ~42 on board7% ~66 on board
3 AM10% ~69 on board9% ~91 on board
4 AM25% ~165 on board6% ~60 on board
5 AM32% ~372 on board12% ~104 on board
6 AM35% ~323 on board10% ~90 on board
7 AM51% ~501 on board14% ~140 on board
8 AM62% ~693 on board13% ~145 on board
9 AM39% ~338 on board10% ~97 on board
10 AM40% ~392 on board9% ~95 on board
11 AM28% ~247 on board11% ~115 on board
12 PM22% ~236 on board16% ~157 on board
1 PM20% ~213 on board21% ~211 on board
2 PM25% ~244 on board33% ~383 on board
3 PM23% ~249 on board42% ~392 on board
4 PM27% ~272 on board56% ~552 on board
5 PM33% ~351 on board59% ~648 on board
6 PM26% ~274 on board39% ~386 on board
7 PM13% ~155 on board33% ~253 on board
8 PM11% ~100 on board33% ~382 on board
9 PM14% ~142 on board35% ~351 on board
10 PM15% ~144 on board40% ~381 on board
11 PM10% ~110 on board28% ~270 on board

Elevators and escalators

The railroad reports elevator and escalator availability by branch, not by station.

Forest Hills is listed as accessible. Across the City Terminal Zone, elevators worked 99.3% of the time and escalators 95.5% over the last 12 months.

Other stations on the City Terminal Zone

Schedules, parking and station details: Forest Hills on mta.info.

Questions

How busy is Forest Hills station?

About 1,200 tickets a day were sold for trips starting at Forest Hills (Oct 2025 – Sep 2026), the #21 most of 126 LIRR stations, 3.4% fewer than the year before.

Is Forest Hills station accessible?

Yes. The MTA lists Forest Hills as fully accessible.

What fare zone is Forest Hills in?

Forest Hills is in zone 1 on the City Terminal Zone.

How crowded are trains at Forest Hills?

On weekdays, trains toward the city are fullest when they leave Forest Hills around 8 AM, with about 693 people on board (62% of seats).

Where do people go from Forest Hills?

The most common destination on tickets from Forest Hills is Penn Station.

Data (data.ny.gov): MTA Railroad Ticket Sales, MTA Rail Stations, LIRR Stop-Level Occupancy, LIRR Elevator and Escalator Availability, LIRR On-Time Performance. Updated Nov 3, 2026.
Source code: github.com/MantieReid/mta-data-analysis · Analysis by Mantie Reid II (CC BY 4.0).

This is an independent data analysis project and is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA).

Data is sourced from the MTA through the New York State Open Data Portal. Visualizations, calculations, and interpretations are independently produced. Data may be revised, incomplete, or delayed. For official transit information, visit mta.info.