Grand Central Madison hits 40% of Manhattan ridership one year after opening
Janno Lieber, MTA chairman and CEO, speaks Tuesday about the anniversary of Grand Central Madison's opening. Credit: Ed Quinn
After waiting decades for Grand Central Madison to be built, Long Island Rail Road riders and MTA officials are marking the station’s anniversary — and a recent ridership milestone.
For the first time since it opened, ridership at the new station last week reached 40% of all Manhattan LIRR trips, Metropolitan Transportation Authority leaders announced Tuesday at a ceremony at the east midtown Manhattan transit hub.
Grand Central Madison is the end result of the $11 billion East Side Access megaproject, which formally began about 25 years ago, but was conceived in the 1960s.
After years of delays and cost overruns, the 700,000-square-foot station finally opened its doors to the public on Jan. 25. The LIRR initially ran shuttle trains between Grand Central and Jamaica before launching full service on Feb. 27.
“It’s hard to believe that the terminal has been open for one year already … We’ve certainly come a long way,” LIRR acting president Robert Free said.
Free contrasted the railroad's 1-year-old Manhattan terminal against its old 114-year-old one, Penn Station, which is owned and maintained by Amtrak and shared with NJ Transit. “I have to tell you, it's really nice having our own station, our own platforms, our own tracks, and our own tunnels,” Free said.
Far from a celebration, the early days of Grand Central Madison were marked by widespread outrage and aggravation among LIRR commuters, as the railroad’s overhauled schedules and insufficient train fleet led to major confusion, delays and crowding. In the railroad’s first rider survey after opening the station, customer satisfaction plummeted 13 percentage points to 68%.
The railroad responded to riders’ complaints with several service changes, including rerouting some Grand Central trains to Penn Station and by boosting service on the Brooklyn line.
MTA officials have said the changes have made a difference. Last week, Grand Central, for the first time, accounted for 40% of the LIRR’s Manhattan ridership, up from around 30% in the station’s early months, MTA officials announced on Tuesday. That's closer to the MTA's original projections of about 45% of Manhattan riders using Grand Central.
Nearly 80,000 riders travel into and out of Grand Central each day, and 17 million since the station opened, according to the MTA.
Among them is Thomas Chang, of Great Neck, who, like many other commuters, still marvels at the bright, spacious and pristine conditions of Grand Central Madison, even if he has trouble getting around it. Upon emerging from the station’s lengthy escalators, Chang paused and looked around before choosing a direction.
“I’ve been going to Penn Station since I was a kid, so that one is super familiar. But, here, I still don’t know where to go,” Chang, 21, said. “I think it’s a little bit confusing, and it could use a little more signage. But, besides that, it’s good.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul did not attend the ceremony, but issued a statement saying the opening of Grand Central Madison a year ago “marked a new beginning of travel and regional connectivity.”
“It has delivered significant benefits to the tens of thousands of New Yorkers who rely on it every day, and shows the importance of continuing to expand transit throughout the region,” Hochul said.
Alfonso Castillo has been reporting for Newsday since 1999 and covering the transportation beat since 2008. He grew up in the Bronx and Queens and now lives in Valley Stream with his wife and two sons.
