The New York Connecting Railroad or NYCR is a rail line in the borough of Queens in New York City. It links New York City and Long Island by rail directly to the North American mainland. Amtrak, CSX, Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Providence and Worcester Railroad, and the New York and Atlantic Railway (NYAR) currently use the line. Completed in 1917, it runs from the Hell Gate Bridge over the East River to the Fresh Pond Junction yard in Glendale, Queens. Amtrak uses the northernmost section of the line from Sunnyside Junction (Bowery Bay) in the Woodside section of Queens to the Hell Gate Bridge into the Bronx, from which it follows the line north to Boston.
Amtrak owns the line north of Sunnyside Junction, which forms part of the Northeast Corridor. From this point to Fresh Pond Junction CSX is the owner, with the line known as the Fremont Secondary. South of Fresh Pond, the line leads into the Bay Ridge Branch, a freight-only branch owned by the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) and operated by the New York and Atlantic Railway