Full LIRR Service To Grand Central Madison Set To Begin

LONG ISLAND, NY — Full Long Island Rail Road service to Grand Central Madison is set to begin on Monday, Feb. 27, MTA officials said Wednesday — signaling the first time in history that people can travel directly on the LIRR to the East Side from Long Island.

MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said the service will add 271 LIRR trains per day, increasing LIRR systemwide service to 936 trains per day, with 296 heading to or from Grand Central Madison.

Service levels will increase 41 percent over the present schedules of 665 daily trains and create reverse-peak service on the Port Jefferson and Ronkonkoma Branches for the first time. Train schedules are available via the TrainTime app and here.

"Faster, more convenient travel that brings Long Island closer to the heart of the city — the new schedules are going to be a major shot in the arm for the local economy and the effort to get people back to offices, theaters, and shopping," Lieber said.

"This is the biggest service increase in LIRR history,' said Catherine Rinaldi, interim president of the Long Island Rail Road and president of Metro-North Railroad. “Long Islanders will benefit from a combination of Grand Central Madison service, the new LIRR Main Line third track and a second NYC terminal that links to the East Side."

All 11 branches of the LIRR will offer service to Grand Central Madison and Penn Station, in some cases via transfers, and the schedules provide rush-hour through-service to Brooklyn from Freeport, Hempstead and West Hempstead. Branch-by-branch service summaries include:

Babylon branch

Overall service on the branch will increase to 155 trains a day, 30 more trains than operate today, a service increase of 24 percent, and more of them will travel directly to Manhattan — 153 compared with 118 today. Peak period riders will have 21 more trains to choose from daily, a 53 percent increase in service. Trains will generally make all local stops to Wantagh or run express to Wantagh and then make all stops to Babylon, with schedules timed to enable seamless transfers at Wantagh. There will also be five through trains between Freeport and Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn.

Reverse peak service is also growing, by five trains or 31 percent. Off-peak, at least two trains per hour will run between Manhattan and Babylon making all local stops between Rockville Centre and Babylon, with hourly service to Penn Station and to Grand Central. In addition, a limited stop train will run between Penn Station and Babylon during most off-peak hours, stopping only at Jamaica, Freeport, Bellmore, Massapequa, Amityville, and Babylon.

On weekends, the LIRR is adding 23 trains per day, a 28 percent service increase. Customers will now have the choice to travel directly to Penn Station or directly to Grand Central. Some stations will have access to additional limited-stop trains connecting with trains to or from Patchogue.

Far Rockaway Branch

"The LIRR is dramatically increasing the number of direct trains per day between Far Rockaway and Manhattan, from eight trains today, seven of them in the peak, to 60 trains daily, covering all time periods," offiicals said.

Off-peak, the branch’s primary western terminal will become Grand Central. Overall, the branch will host seven more trains per day, a 13 percent increase over current levels. During peak hours, 11 morning and 10 evening trains will operate, split roughly evenly between Penn Station and Grand Central.

Off peak, trains will run every hour between Far Rockaway and Manhattan (Grand Central on weekdays, Penn Station on weekends).

All trains will stop Jamaica for service to Brooklyn and most will stop at Locust Manor, Laurelton, and Rosedale, which are receiving significant rush hour service increases ranging from 47 percent to 56 percent over current schedules.

Hempstead Branch

The LIRR is also dramatically increasing the number of direct trains per day between Hempstead and Manhattan, from 13 trains today, nine of them during the peak, to 57 trains daily, covering all time periods. The branch’s weekday off-peak western terminal will shift from Atlantic Terminal, Brooklyn, to Grand Central, with 42 trains daily while maintaining 13 at Penn Station and 2 at Atlantic Terminal. Overall, the LIRR is adding seven trains a day to the Hempstead Branch, increasing service by 14 percent.

During the peak period, 18 trains will run to and from Manhattan, split evenly between Penn Station and Grand Central. One train in the morning and one in the afternoon will operate to/from Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn. All trains will stop at Jamaica, where transfer opportunities are available to all western terminals. Off-Peak, trains will run every hour between Hempstead and Grand Central.

Regular year-round service will begin to Elmont-UBS Arena, Floral Park will see a 22 percent increase in peak service, and Hollis and Queens Village will see an 83 percent increase in rush hour service. Weekend service at these three stations doubles, with trains running every half hour, or hourly to Penn Station and hourly to Grand Central.

Long Beach Branch

The new schedules offer 12 morning rush hour trains and 11 evening rush hour trains, an increase of five per day. Total rush hour service to Manhattan rises to 23 trains daily, split between Penn Station and Grand Central, up by 10 from the 13 rush hour trains at Penn today. Service to Manhattan in the early morning arriving between 6 and 7 a.m. will rise to three trains per day, up from one today.

Reverse peak service will increase to 10 trains daily, up from seven today.

At Lynbrook on weekdays, 17 morning peak trains and 14 evening peak trains will run to and from Manhattan, roughly evenly split between Penn Station and Grand Central and rush hour service is more evenly spaced. All trains will stop at Jamaica, where transfer opportunities will be available to Brooklyn.

Montauk Branch

The new timetables include adjusted rush hour departure times for trains originating in Speonk to improve the even spacing of trains. Additional Hicksville and Mineola stops will be added to better serve those commuting to Nassau County employment hubs. The new timetables include a new early morning train to Patchogue, originating at Babylon at 5:40 a.m.

There will continue to be two direct trains between Speonk and Penn Station each rush hour, and South Fork Commuter Connection service will continue to run and bring riders back to Speonk, instead of terminating at Westhampton in response to a desire stated by South Fork customers.

There will be additional service to/from Montauk between Memorial Day and Labor Day including the popular Cannonball trains, which will continue to operate to and from Penn Station.

Oyster Bay Branch

The overall number of trains on the Oyster Bay Branch is increasing to 32 per weekday, up from 28 that operate today, a service increase of 10 percent. Off-peak, midday weekday service continues to run every one to two hours, and weekend service will run every two hours. There will continue to be two direct rush hour trains between Oyster Bay and Penn Station.

Port Jefferson Branch

The LIRR will add 38 trains per weekday, an increase of 39 percent over current levels, to the Port Jefferson Branch.

During the peak period, the LIRR will increase service by seven trains daily, or 19 percent over existing levels. From stations east of Greenlawn, trains will be better spaced to provide service at more desirable times. Stations along the recently completed third track between Hicksville and Floral Park will see notable peak hour service increases, ranging from 40 percent to 133 percent depending on the station and time of day.

Weekday peak service has been increased by 51 percent at Mineola and 43 percent at Hicksville. Reverse-peak service will receive significant improvements, with 11 trains added (a 91 percent service increase) and gaps in service of two hours in the morning and 90 minutes in the evening now eliminated.

Port Washington Branch

The opening of Grand Central Madison allows the LIRR to add 13 trains a day to Port Washington Branch timetables, bringing service on the branch up to 103 trains daily, a 14 percent service increase.

During the weekday AM and PM peak, alternate trains will serve Penn Station and Grand Central. Some peak trains will make all stops to Bayside, then continue to Great Neck with stops at Douglaston and Little Neck. Other trains will make their first stop at Bayside or Great Neck, and then make all stops to Port Washington. Queens stations see up to 40 percent more AM peak service and some see up to 57 percent more PM peak service, and the new schedules offer more express trains for Bayside, Douglaston, and Little Neck stations.

For reverse-peak commuters traveling as far as Great Neck, the new timetables eliminate an 85-minute gap in morning eastbound service and 72-minute gap in evening westbound service.

Off-Peak and weekend travelers will be able to access trains every half hour between Manhattan and Port Washington, with hourly service to Penn Station and Grand Central. Murray Hill, Broadway, Auburndale, and Plandome service is doubled, as all trains will make all stops.

Ronkonkoma Branch

"The opening of Grand Central Madison represents the latest milestone in four-and-a-half years of concerted construction that has lifted capacity constraints that have long prevented the branch from realizing its full bidirectional service potential," the MTA said.

Assisted by the opening of Main Line Third Track last October, the new mid-Suffolk uard in Ronkonkoma in October 2020 and the second track between Farmingdale and Ronkonkoma in September 2018, overall service on the Ronkonkoma Branch will increase to 117 trains a day, a 50 percent increase over the current 78 daily trains that operate today, including those traveling east of Ronkonkoma. All trains will operate to Manhattan.

Rush hour service will increase to 42 trains a day, 12 more trains than today, a 40 percent increase in service. Trains will alternate between Penn Station and Grand Central.

Reverse peak service is expanding even more, to 18 trains a day, from 12 trains that operate today.

The new schedules will eliminate a 95-minute gap in eastbound service during the morning rush when no trains could depart Manhattan between 6:07 a.m. and 9:01 a.m., and a 76-minute p.m. gap in reverse-peak service in which no trains could arrive in Manhattan between 6:06 p.m. and 7:22 p.m. under current capacity constraints.

During off-peak times and weekends, trains will operate twice an hour, with hourly service to Penn Station and Grand Central.

East of Ronkonkoma, the existing afternoon Yaphank train is extended to Riverhead, as is its westbound return trip, providing an additional service opportunity to and from the county seat. Additional trains will run during the summer.

West Hempstead Branch

The LIRR will add 13 trains a day to the West Hempstead branch, bringing the total number of trains to 39 daily, an increase of 50 percent, and the trains will serve Manhattan directly during rush hours. During off-peak and weekend times, when the branch’s trains had previously ended at Valley Stream, service is being extended to Brooklyn.

Five morning peak trains and six evening peak trains will run on the West Hempstead branch with all trains will stopping at St. Albans, which will also see additional service from the Babylon branch. There are now three morning through trains to Manhattan (up from one) and four from Manhattan in the afternoon (up from zero).

Off-peak trains will run every hour between West Hempstead and Atlantic Terminal. All West Hempstead branch trains will stop at St. Albans. New early morning reverse-commute service will be added at St. Albans for hospital workers. Overall reverse-peak service on the branch is more than doubling, to six trains, up from two currently.

Service to Atlantic Terminal, Nostrand Avenue and East New York

The LIRR is adding 36 trains per day to Atlantic Terminal, bringing 155 trains to or from the terminal daily, an increase of 30 percent over current levels. Trains will run every 12 minutes during peak and reverse-peak times and every 20 minutes during middays, nights and weekends. All Brooklyn trains will make stops at Nostrand Avenue and East New York, service increases to those stations are even more pronounced than at Atlantic Terminal.

The LIRR will increase weekend service to Atlantic Terminal to 124 trains daily, up by 44 trains, or 55 percent over current levels. The weekend service improvement to 20-minute intervals is an improvement over today when the time between trains varies between 21 minutes and 39 minutes.

The West Hempstead branch direct service is being extended to Atlantic Terminal during all times of day and all days. During peak periods, direct service will also continue to serve the Babylon Branch (to/from Freeport) and the Hempstead Branch.

Most Brooklyn trains will operate originate or terminate at Jamaica – increasing anticipated reliability by eliminating the potential for incidents or events from east of Jamaica to influence service to Brooklyn.

Enhanced service for local event venues

Customers will see more frequent reverse peak and off-peak service making it easier to attend events at Barclays Center.

Elmont-UBS Arena is now a full-time station with all Huntington/Ronkonkoma trains stopping during normal game times even at non-event days and times. This means half hourly service to and from UBS Arena both, before and after games.

Riders traveling from the Hudson Valley can transfer from a Metro-North train directly to an LIRR train for service to Mets-Willets point for Mets games, Citi Field events and US Open tennis.

With more peak trains making Woodside stops than today, transfer options are improved for those coming from Long Island.

Customers from the northern suburbs will now have more opportunities to take trains to events at Forest Hills Stadium with trains to Forest Hills departing from both NYC terminals.

"Grand Central Madison is a game changer for New Yorkers, and I look forward to welcoming Long Island commuters to our tremendous new terminal," Gov. Kathy 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."

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 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 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.

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.