MTA Transfers Control Of New Grand Central Madison To LIRR

LONG ISLAND, NY — Operational control of Grand Central Madison — the new, 700,000 sure foot Long Island Rail Road terminal that's nearing completion under Grand Central Terminal and opening up East Side access to commuters — has been transferred to the LIRR from MTA construction and development, the MTA agency responsible for building the facility, announced Sunday.

The transfer of control, "a significant step toward opening the new terminal", took place at noon on Friday and was overseen by the Federal Railroad Administration, the MTA said. The transfer signifies that the rail operations at Grand Central Madison and the tunnels leading to it are now federally regulated railroad territory.

No opening date for the new terminal has yet been announced by the intent is to meet the schedule and unveil the new site by the end of 2022.

“Today’s announcement means that Grand Central Madison is formally changing from a construction site to a railroad terminal,” said Catherine Rinaldi, interim president of MTA Long Island Rail Road and president of MTA Metro-North Railroad. “This is a historic, major milestone for the project. The LIRR is delighted to have received this extraordinary nearly completed new train terminal and railroad staff are looking forward to safely beginning train service for customers.”

The project is moving forward, with the final stages of testing, officials said. MTA construction and development remains active on the site, 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.

The new terminal is the largest passenger rail terminal to be built in the country in 67 years and has been one of the largest transportation infrastructure projects in the United States in recent years, the MTA said. The two-level caverns support four platforms and eight tracks, and upon opening, will provide Long Island’s commuters direct access to Manhattan’s east side, offer new commuting opportunities for reverse peak travelers, and enhance New York’s regional connectivity.

When the LIRR begins full service to Grand Central Madison, it will introduce the largest schedule increase in LIRR history, adding 269 trains per weekday, a 41 percent systemwide service increase, to 936 trains per weekday from the current 667, officials said.

The new terminal will also allow the LIRR to accommodate anticipated customer demand to Manhattan when Amtrak begins a project in 2024 to rebuild its East River Tunnels to Penn Station. The project will take one of the four tunnels out of service, in sequence, over a period of three years, reducing LIRR capacity to Penn Station — capacity the LIRR will be able to maintain to Manhattan with its new tunnels to Grand Central Madison, officials said.

Other benefits include more evenly spaced trains and fewer gaps in service; more frequent service to Queens and on the Ronkonkoma and West Hempstead branches; a 28 percent increase in Brooklyn service; decreased travel times from Long Island to Manhattan; and less crowding in Penn Station.

MTA Chair and CEO Janno Liebrer, said, in a press conference following a meeting of the MTA on Nov. 30 that he's been "consistent" in his goal and is "pushing to open this year."

In November, officials also pledged that the terminal would open on time. According to the MTA's website, the project known as East Side Access will culminate with the opening of Grand Central Madison, a new terminal along Madison Avenue between 43rd and 48th Streets.

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.

And, according to an MTA representative, the project symbolizes a "huge increase to service, with 41 percent more trains system-wide on the LIRR."

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

According to the MTA site, about 45 percent of LIRR commuters are expected to go to Grand Central Madison, so there will be less crowding at Penn Station and the surrounding subway lines.
Therefore, the new service to Grand Central will increase peak hour capacity, "and — in combination with the Double Track and LIRR Expansion Project — will make true reverse commuting between Manhattan and Long Island a reality," the MTA said.

According to the MTA, when the project is complete, trains at Harold Interlocking, a railroad junction that serves both Amtrak and Long Island Rail Road, will be able to pass through more efficiently. This will benefit travelers all along the northeast corridor.

Highlights of the project, according to the MTA, include direct connection for all 11 LIRR lines to Grand Central Terminal and Midtown East; a new, 350,000-square-foot terminal with spacious waiting areas, retail and restaurants, real-time departure information, and free wifi; more than 160,000 passengers per day saving as much as 40 minutes on their trips; two new tunnels that will increase train capacity to and from Manhattan by up to 5o percent; less crowding at Penn Station; and improvements to and expansion of Harold Interlocking, a critical piece of the Northeast Corridor

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 new MTA CEO Janno Lieber took the helm, MTA reps said.

At an MTA update, 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.'"

According to Torres-Springer, currently, all the escalators and elevators are running, and the fire alarms are fully functional within the projected time frame. What currently being done is system testing and commissioning to make sure all is functioning properly "to keep riders safe, which is of paramount importance."

Torres-Springer said the "long pole in the tent is finalizing testing of our air flow system," something that's being worked on 24/7, including adjustments. "We won't open a new facility without having this signed off on, so we can be sure of the safety of our riders," Torres-Springer said.

But, he added, he fully anticipates that plans to open in 2022 will be on track.

"We don't have an exact date yet, but we are confident about opening service this year," he said.

According to an MTA rep who spoke with Patch, the project is not delayed, despite some media reports.

The project is still expected to reach "beneficial use", or opening day, on time in 2022. But that being said, as with any multi-million dollar project, there is still a punch list of items, including polishing, painting, and other tasks, that may continue on into 2023. "You will still see people in orange vests," in 2023, even though the new terminal will have been open and operating since 2022, he said. Only when all the punch list items are checked off will the project reach the "close out and demobilization" stage.

"We are committed to opening the terminal this year. It's just a question of when," the representative said.