New York’s long-delayed plan to bring Long Island Rail Road trains to Grand Central Terminal finally came to fruition on Wednesday, capping a project as old as the MTA itself.
Just after 11 a.m., Gov. Kathy Hochul and hundreds of riders aboard the first passenger train arrived at Grand Central Madison, a terminal located 150 feet below the railroad junction.
The station opened as a shortened shuttle service from Jamaica Terminal, with only one or two trains per hour. MTA officials said full service will start in at least three weeks, when up to 24 trains an hour will service the new station.
“This was a phenomenal achievement to bring this project to fruition,” said Hochul. “It took a long, long time. Exactly 110 years have passed since the last major railway terminal [opened] in our state.”
For years, Hochul, MTA Chairman Janno Lieber and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo have vowed to complete the project — formerly known as East Side Access — by the end of 2022. But a last-minute problem with the station’s airflow pushed back the 11 p.m. opening.
The first train passengers took photos of the brand new Grand Central Madison terminal.
Stephen Nessen
It was another delay for the project, which was one of the most notoriously mismanaged public works projects in the city’s history. In the late 1990s, the MTA estimated its cost at 2.8 billion US dollars – with a construction period of 10 years. The price rose to $6.3 billion in 2006, the year the federal government agreed to pay $2.6 billion for the works, the largest public grant for a mass transit project in US history.
But as construction delays mounted, so did the price. Federal records show the final price is $11.6 billion, including future plans to purchase additional cars for the service.
“It’s so exciting,” said Kelly Curtain of Point Lookout in Long Island, who caught the first train into the station. “As someone who has taken the Long Island Rail Road for more than 20 years — my father took it for 45 years — this story is in the making.”
The plan to bring LIRR trains to the East Side through a new river tunnel dates back to 1968 when the MTA was formed under former Governor Nelson Rockefeller.
The tunnel between East 63rd Street and Queens was dug in the 1970s, but work ground to a halt due to the city’s financial crisis. In the 1980s, the MTA resumed work on the upper level of the tunnel, which now carries Line F subway trains between Queens and Manhattan.
But the lower level of the tunnel – which was designed to carry LIRR trains – remained empty. Former Governor George Pataki announced plans to revive the program in the 1990s to provide Long Island residents with an alternative to Penn Station.
With the terminal finally open, LIRR riders heading to the East Side could save up to 40 minutes of commute time per day, according to the MTA.
The MTA estimates that LIRR drivers heading to the East Side could save up to 40 minutes of commute time per day thanks to the new terminal.
Stephen Nessen
“We love Grand Central,” Lieber said. “It is the temple of local transport. And now it has a new chapel.”
Passengers must navigate a maze of corridors and escalators for more than 10 minutes to get from the street to the platforms of the stations, which are 15 stories underground. “I would use this time as meditation time,” Hochul suggested.
One of the escalators to a train platform stopped working less than two hours after the station opened. Thomas Fiscoe, a 36-year-old Brooklyn resident, said he was on the escalator when it broke.
“I’m confident they don’t have too many other hiccups,” Fiscoe said.
The new terminal has no restrooms or seating areas on the platforms. The MTA built retail space in the station, but the storefronts were vacant on opening day.
The MTA also commissioned two mosaics for the shiny new terminal from artists Yayoi Kusama and Kiki Smith.
New LIRR schedules will split the railroad’s service between Penn Station and Grand Central Madison. MTA officials said LIRR service will see a 40% increase once the new schedules go into effect.
Until then, LIRR drivers will need to change trains at Jamaica Terminal to travel to Grand Central Madison. The shuttle service runs from 06:15 to 20:00 on weekdays and from 07:00 to 23:00 on weekends. LIRR trains run every 30 minutes during off-peak hours and once an hour during rush hours.
John Colucci, 36, said he’s looking forward to avoiding Penn Station during his drive from Bay Shore.
“It’s great that they let us Long Islanders into the nicer of the two stations,” he said. “It’s going to be surreal to enter Grand Central Terminal.”