What's next for East Side Access
A section of the East Side Access megaproject in May with a work rail car in the distance. Credit: Craig Ruttle
We don't want to jinx it, but if all goes well, Long Island Rail Road riders are a year and a half away from being able to take a train to Grand Central Terminal. East Side Access has been the promised land for far too many decades and has cost way too many dollars.
But there's still a lot to do before the Metropolitan Transportation Authority can finish the journey. In addition to completing construction, there are operations to plan, from who's doing the work on the tracks, and who's overseeing the concourses and retail, to what trains will head east to Grand Central, rather than to Penn, and when. The logistics are extensive and the MTA must get the details right. After all that wait, we expect East Side Access to provide nothing less than reliable, enticing options for LIRR riders, schedules that make sense, escalators that work and a welcoming, user-friendly customer experience on the train and in the terminal.
As of now, however, many details remain uncertain. Customer surveys are essential to shaping schedules and other plans that affect riders. And the MTA must work with employees and other stakeholders to make sure concerns are addressed.
To operate East Side Access, the MTA is discussing creating a "special purpose entity" to address legal concerns. The authority should do what's necessary to meet federal regulations, but we will hold them to the promise there won't be added bureaucracy. There is no need to add a new massive layer to what's already a byzantine behemoth.
It's best that the LIRR and its workers handle the scheduling, signals and everything else associated with the trains. It doesn't make sense, however, for the LIRR to operate and oversee the terminal, concourses and retail, given that the Grand Central location will be unlike any other it handles. After all, the operation of Penn Station is not something the MTA should put on its resume.
Like Moynihan Station, the East Side Access terminal would best be served by a public-private partnership that can combine retail with the Disney World skills of efficiently moving people in and out of busy spaces. Attention must be paid to practical, customer-oriented needs, like maintaining escalators and elevators, given the extreme depth of the tracks from ground level.
The MTA needs to develop and communicate a path forward that includes soliciting ideas from customers, unions and board members, while also considering post-pandemic shifts in thinking that will change our transit habits. LIRR President Phil Eng needs to play a key role in getting workers and riders ready, and must start planning now.
After seemingly endless starts and stops, there's a light at the end of the tunnel. But the MTA and LIRR still must navigate some twists and turns before reaching the ultimate destination.
MEMBERS OF THE EDITORIAL BOARD are experienced journalists who offer reasoned opinions, based on facts, to encourage informed debate about the issues facing our community.
