Hochul Rides 1st-Ever LIRR Train To New Grand Central Madison Tuesday

LONG ISLAND, NY — A new day dawned for Long Island commuters Tuesday as the first-ever train headed from Jamaica to the new Grand Central Madison terminal on New York City's East Side — with Gov. Kathy Hochul and MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber taking the first trip.

The terminal opens the door for commuters to head directly to work on the East Side from Long Island.

The first train arrived at the terminal platform at 11:07 a.m. The train was the first of Grand Central Direct trains now operating between Jamaica and Grand Central Madison between 6:15 a.m. and 8 p.m. on weekdays and between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. on weekends. Trains are running every 30 minutes in both directions during weekday midday periods, as well as on weekends, and once per hour during peak periods, arriving at Grand Central between 6:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. and departing between 4:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Hochul said.

"Grand Central Madison is a game changer for New Yorkers, and I look forward to welcoming Long Island commuters to our tremendous new terminal," Hochul said. "Infrastructure is all about connections, and this project is an extraordinary step forward to better connect millions of New Yorkers with their homes, their families and their jobs."

During the kick-off period, the LIRR has customer ambassadors on the Grand Central Madison concourse to greet riders and offer information about the new space. LIRR customers to Grand Central Madison can use their Penn Station tickets, as Penn Station and Grand Central Madison are in the same fare zone. The special Grand Central Direct service will wrap up with the initiation of full train service mirroring what was put forward in draft schedules published last June.

The MTA will provide at least three weeks notice before new, full schedules go into effect.

Grand Central Madison doubles LIRR capacity into Manhattan. In conjunction with the completion of a third track on the LIRR main iine, the new terminal enables reverse commuting options that were not previously possible. For LIRR customers who work on the East Side of Manhattan, this new terminal is expected to save 40 minutes a day of commute time round trip, officials explained.

The terminal, Hochul said, also provides enhanced connectivity through the MTA region, with both commuter railroads and the subway all in one building for the first time.

The expansion of CityTicket will provide an additional travel option to Queens communities served by the LIRR, providing easier access to job opportunities. A new combo ticket will give New Yorkers, and those visiting New York, more travel options than ever to get to Long Island, the Hudson Valley, or Connecticut from the five boroughs. Customers in Metro North Railroad territory will now have a one-ticket ride to JFK Airport, officials said.

"What we are opening today is truly breathtaking. The eight tracks, four platforms and 714,000 square feet of space at Grand Central Madison are only the most visible part of a project that also includes 40 miles of new track, 96 new switches, 550 miles of cables, 8,445 feet of retaining walls, five new railroad bridges, 296 new catenary poles, 51 signal towers, 2 million cubic yards of rock, soil and muck excavated, 1 million cubic yards of concrete poured, and tunnel ventilation plants with emergency exits every few blocks," Lieber said. "Together with the successful Third Track project and L Train rehab, what was accomplished since the 2018 overhaul of East Side Access proves the MTA is a megaproject leader."

LIRR Interim President and Metro-North President Catherine Rinaldi added: "We are so excited to welcome the first generation of LIRR customers who will now have a choice about whether to go to the west side or the east side. This is the dawn of a new era for the railroad, no less important than the opening of the LIRR's service to Penn Station in 1910."

Grand Central Madison is the first new major downtown rail terminal in the United States in 67 years and the first expansion of the LIRR in 112 years, since service began to Penn Station on September 8, 1910, officials explained.

Riders can now transfer directly between the LIRR and the Metro-North Railroad. The new combo ticket will let riders buy a LIRR ticket in Huntington, for example, for a trip to White Plains or a Metro-North ticket in Poughkeepsie for a trip to Montauk. Riders choose their origin station with Grand Central as their destination and pay the regular fare plus a flat rate of $8 for a continuing trip to any destination on the other railroad. The combo ticket will go into effect once the Grand Central Madison timetables are implemented.

Grand Central Madison system-wide timetables are expected to include 274 more trains each weekday than currently operate, a projected 41 percent service increase made possible in part by the completion on October 3 of a new 9.8-mile main line third between Floral Park and Hicksville.

Grand Central Madison and Main Line Third Track are part of a $17.7 billion investment to transform and modernize the Long Island Rail Road with 100 projects throughout the system including construction of a more spacious LIRR concourse at Penn Station with a an entrance at 33rd Street and Seventh Avenue, renewal and upgrading of 36 stations and 17 bridges, elimination of eight at-grade railroad crossings, activation of the Positive Train Control safety system, installation of 13 miles of second track between Farmingdale and Ronkonkoma, upgrades to 15 electrical substations, parking capacity increases, and yard expansions, Hochul said.

Hochul, at a press event after the inaugural trip, said her focus also remains on New York City's subways, with a goal of quelling fears and anxiety many have in regard to crime.

"Part of the strategy is to knock down the apprehension many may have," she said.

Of Grand Central Madison, she and Lieber added that while in the post pandemic world, the idea of 100 percent of employees heading to Manhattan to work in offices may never exist again, there are opportunities for reverse commutes and also, a means for workers in the restaurant and hospitality industries to make their way to new jobs. Hochul also said former high rises in New York City once used for offices may now be used for housing.

"We're not limited by anything other than our imagination," she said.

The LIRR will initiate full service from Long Island to Grand Central, per schedules that will be posted here and in the TrainTime app.

The opening date for the new terminal was originally scheduled for the end of 2022. Final stages involved testing, officials said. MTA construction and development remained active on the site at the end of 2022, with contractors testing air flow and life safety systems, as well as the escalators and elevators that are essential for the operation of Grand Central Madison.

Not only will the new terminal mean easier access to the East Side for Long Island commuters, it will save those same passengers up to 40 minutes of travel time per day, the MTA said.

Those increases will primarily benefit the electric portions of LIRR service, MTA officials said.

According to the MTA, plans were first proposed in 1963 and then, commenced in 1998; the years since have been long, with total costs for the project now projected at $11.1 billion, an estimate that has remained fixed since Lieber took the helm, MTA reps said.

At an MTA update last year, MTA President of Construction and Development Jamie Torres-Springer spoke, saying a "project of this size is an enormous task. It is many times larger than Grand Central's existing terminal. As Janno Lieber says, 'It's like laying the Chrysler building on its side.'"