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3/16/2023
Metropolitan Transportation Authority last week announced schedule changes affecting MTA Long Island Rail Road trains serving the new Grand Central Madison terminal in New York City.
The changes designed to enhance service and increase frequency went into effect March 13, MTA officials said in a press release. Four trains that originally served the terminal have been rerouted to New York City Penn Station, while the railroad is also extending four morning-peak trains on the Ronkonkoma Branch to serve two more stations.
These changes are in addition to earlier schedule changes made March 6 and 7 when rush-hour service to Brooklyn was increased, MTA officials said. The time between trains was reduced to seven or eight minutes; Penn Station-bound trains were lengthened; and cars were added to all trains that had exceeded capacity the previous week.
The transit agency also added more customer service staff at Jamaica Station.
“The Long Island Rail Road team is all over the rollout in terms of looking for trends, what ridership is looking like, what trains are popular and adjusting accordingly,” said LIRR Interim President Catherine Rinaldi. “This is a very dynamic process and we are going to be continuously making adjustments based upon ridership and loading data.”
The schedule adjustments were prompted by difficulties regarding LIRR train access to Grand Central Madison — nearly 25% of LIRR’s 14-foot-tall diesel cars can’t fit through the East River tunnel that serves the new terminal, according to news reports by Gothamist. The tunnel was built in the 1970s.
Because of the service limits, the railroad has had to operate fewer trains to and from Penn Station, which required riders to make transfers at Jamaica. That led to crowded platforms and trains, Gothamist reported. MTA brought back into service some of its oldest trains, 1980s-era M3s that had been slated for retirement, to accommodate demand.
MTA launched LIRR full service — 24 trains an hour, or a 41% increase in weekday frequency — at Grand Central Madison Feb. 26 after the terminal’s grand opening Jan. 25.