Grand Central's Long-Awaited LIRR Service Starts Wednesday

NEW YORK CITY — A long-awaited plan to bring Long Island Rail Road trains to Grand Central Terminal is about to leave — or, rather, enter — the station.

The first LIRR train will arrive in the terminal's new Grand Central Madison station Wednesday at 11:07 a.m., MTA officials announced.

The train will leave Jamaica at 10:45 a.m. as part of a new shuttle service called Grand Central Direct, officials said. Full LIRR service —dubbed "East Side Access" — will expand in coming weeks.

"The new LIRR service to Manhattan’s east side is the most transformative change to Long Island Rail Road service in over a century," an MTA release states.

Grand Central Madison is a part of a nearly $12 billion project under the existing station that's the largest passenger rail terminal to be built in the U.S. in 67 years, MTA officials have said.

The East Side Access project experienced delays over years, leaving many commuters who sought an easier connection between Manhattan's east side and Long Island frustrated.

But the project chugged forward, with MTA building the new 350,000-square-foot terminal and two new tunnels between Manhattan and Queens.

The terminal's opening signals that new schedules will come to every LIRR branch, including more trains and reverse commuting options to Long Island, officials said.