This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
6/2/2022
A new MTA Long Island Rail Road terminal in Manhattan will be named Grand Central Madison, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced this week.
The 700,000-square-foot terminal is nearing completion below Grand Central Terminal and Madison Avenue from 43rd Street to 48th Street. The name references the station's location. LIRR service to the new terminal is on pace to open to riders before the end of the year, Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials said in a press release.
The $11.1 billion infrastructure project is part of the largest expansion of LIRR service in more than 100 years, since the original Pennsylvania Station and East River Tunnels opened in September 1910. The new terminal is also the largest passenger-rail terminal to be built in the United States since the 1950s, MTA officials said.
Once Grand Central Madison is completed, along with a new third track on the commuter railroad's main line, LIRR service is expected to increase systemwide by 40% on morning peak service with an additional increase in reverse peak service. This will be LIRR's first entry point into Manhattan that's not shared with other railroads.
The terminal will have eight tracks and four platforms on two levels below the existing lower level of Grand Central. The terminal is expected to reduce congestion at Penn Station and allow for the possible entry of MTA Metro-North Railroad trains, since LIRR and Metro-North tracks and platforms are fully separated from each other, ensuring that they can’t delay or disrupt each other.