High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Staten Island Rapid Transit Operating Authority, marked on the trains as MTA Staten Island Railway (or SIR), is the operator of the lone rapid transit line operating in the borough of Staten Island, New York City, USA. It is considered a standard railroad line, but only freight service along the western portion of the North Shore Branch is connected to the national railway system. Because the SIR operates with modified R44 New York City Subway cars, and the fact that it is run by the MTA, most residents consider it to be a de facto line of the Subway, despite there being no direct rail link between the SIR and the subway system proper; the line normally is included on official New York Subway maps. Commuters typically use the Staten Island Ferry to reach Manhattan.