It’s the day we’ve all been waiting for–the much-anticipated Grand Central Madison is finally open!
The first Grand Central Madison-bound train will departed Jamaica yesterday, Wednesday January 25, at 10:45a.m. and arrived in Manhattan at 11:07a.m.
New Yorkers expected the new LIRR terminal to open back in December, but the opening date was pushed back due to airflow and fire safety testing that was still being done.
Instead, transit officials had announced a new LIRR shuttle service while eager passengers waited for the terminal’s opening.
Named Grand Central Direct, a soft opening of the shuttle provided special Grand Central Direct service to Grand Central Madison, allowing the public to begin exploring the new terminal and its route. The shuttles, which operated between Grand Central Madison and Jamaica every 30 minutes during middays and on weekends, and hourly during weekday rush periods, is now preparing for a full service launch.
New LIRR schedules will be available in the coming weeks.
Back in May of last year, Governor Kathy Hochul announced in a press release that the new Long Island Rail Road terminal coming to Midtown would be named Grand Central Madison.
Getting its name from the fact that it’s located below Grand Central Terminal and Madison Avenue from 43rd Street to 48th Street, the 700,000-square-foot terminal was expected to finish by the end of 2022, but the opening was delayed.
The new terminal is the largest passenger rail terminal to be built in the U.S. since the 1950s. Officials stated that the $11.1 billion infrastructure project would provide benefits for the entire downstate region including allowing the LIRR to increase morning peak service systemwide by 40% and reducing passenger congestion at Penn Station.
Riders can look forward to eight new tracks and four platforms on two new levels below the existing lower level of Grand Central Terminal. These new levels will include 25 retail storefronts, four new entrances to the street level, and two new entrances into the existing spaces of Grand Central.
The terminal will also feature real-time digital signage, cell service, and Wi-Fi.
Some additional benefits of Grand Central Madison will include as stated by the MTA:
- More evenly spaced trains and fewer large gaps in service
- More frequent service to Queens
- More frequent service on the Ronkonkoma and West Hempstead branches
- 28% increase in Brooklyn service
- Decreased travel times from Long Island to Manhattan
Stay updated on on the new terminal on the MTA website.