Long Island Rail Road service begins to new Grand Central Madison terminal
NEW YORK -- Some Long Island Rail Road riders are celebrating a quicker commute.
Service to the new Grand Central terminal on the East Side began on Wednesday.
The project has been a long time coming. It all began in 1998, when the MTA decided to complete the East Side Access Project. Then in 2001, the environmental impact statement was approved and construction began.
Tunnel construction in Manhattan and Queens followed in 2007. In May 2022, Gov. Kathy Hochul changed the name from East Side Access Project to Grand Central Madison.
And now, 22 years after the start of construction, it is open to the public.
CBS2 spoke with the first commuters entering the brand new station.
"This is a golden ticket. It's a like commemorative thing saying we were on the first trip," said William Douglas of the Bronx.
Douglas and his friends are self-proclaimed "rail fans," They spoke after riding the first train into Grand Central Madison.
"There was definitely a very enthusiastic and very impassioned atmosphere," said Quinnlin Burke of Forest Hills, Queens.
On board with them was MTA Chairman Janno Lieber and Gov. Hochul, each celebrating a project more than two decades in the making.
"It was quite a journey to get here. I'm not talking about the 22-minute ride from Jamaica Station. I'm literally talking about something that started under eight of my predecessor governors," Hochul said.
The new terminal is along Madison Avenue between 43rd and 48th streets. The MTA says it will save LIRR riders who work on Manhattan's East Side 40 minutes per day of commute time, round trip.
"I live on the Upper East Side, so it's definitely a convenience versus having to go to Penn Station, makes it easier to commute to the back the island," rider Jeremy Mehl said.
Right now ight now there is limited service, but Hochul said full service can be expected in about three to four weeks. According to the MTA, that will increase overall LIRR service by 41%.
"This is not going to be what people used to call the 'Long Island Snail Road.' This is an increase of capacity that allows people to have more frequent service, more reliable service, and more options," Lieber said.
All the commuters that spoke to CBS2 agreed that it looks great, but they had different trains of thought when it comes to the time and money behind the project.
"Was it worth it in the end? When you look at the price tag, I mean, $11 billion, only time will tell by the amount of people that use this station," said Raphael Snow of Kew Gardens.
"It took too long, but great things come to those who wait," rider LaToya Johnson added.
The MTA says, for now, trains will operate between 6:15 a.m. and 8 p.m. on weekdays and from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekends.
For more information about the train schedules, please click here.
