The Metropolitan Transportation Authority will miss its own year-end deadline for Long Island Rail Road trains to stop at Grand Central Terminal, the agency conceded Thursday afternoon.
The agency now hopes to begin operations sometime in January in the new part of the terminal known as Grand Central Madison, the culmination of the long-standing and stalled East Side Access project.
In a prepared statement, Jamie Torres-Springer, President of MTA Construction and Development, said, “As outlined at last week’s MTA board meeting, the opening of Grand Central Madison and Long Island Rail Road GCM service is conditional on the completion of system testing. in line with our commitment to safety. A specific zone in the 700,000-square-foot terminal requires additional work that will take more than a few days.”
The statement added: “Given the logistics to complete the test and launch service, we have informed MTA Chairman Janno Lieber that the terminal will not open this week. We will coordinate with the Federal Railroad Administration to open the new terminal and begin LIRR service as soon as possible in January.”
Lieber had repeatedly promised that it would open before the end of December.
The project, which cost $11.1 billion and got the green light in 1998, with construction beginning in 2001, is expected to result in an approximately 50% increase in LIRR rush hour service — but also a “significant” Reduction in LIRR morning service to Penn Station. the agency said.
The MTA has said the public will be notified at least three weeks before Grand Central Madison’s full launch, the debut of which will mean a major overhaul of train schedules for all passengers.
Earlier this month, the MTA announced plans to launch limited LIRR shuttle service between the Jamaica Terminal and Grand Central Madison later this month before full opening. Shuttle trains would mainly operate off-peak.
As of Thursday evening, the MTA’s website still listed December 2022 as the project’s “completion” date or “LIRR service to Grand Central Madison open to the public.”
In the spring, Gov. Kathy Hochul, who oversees the MTA, said the station’s then-expected December opening would give Long Island commuters “a long-overdue world-class experience” and also “the gift of time” by trimming up to 40 minutes less time wasted for passengers working on Manhattan’s East Side. She said, “I can’t wait to take the first ride.”
Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, reports from New York City Hall.