Letters: Metro-North and trains into Penn

Newsday's reporting of Metro-North's desire to run trains into Penn Station seems to imply that Long Island Rail Road passengers will be passing through Grand Central Terminal as a result of the East Side Access Project ["Commuter jam feared", News, Feb. 5].

Actually, LIRR passengers will be deposited into an underground annex, 140 feet below street level. This will not increase demands on Grand Central's switching, platforms or corridors. These elements at Penn, currently serving three railroads, are at critical capacity levels. It is unlikely that passenger diversions to the Grand Central annex will provide sufficient relief to add a fourth carrier at Penn, although the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is reviewing that question.

LIRR operations into the Grand Central annex will necessarily require some split operations, with changes at Jamaica, similar to current Brooklyn services. Annex passengers will have to ride escalators to reach street level. Some transportation planners and emergency evacuation professionals have been opposed to the deep Grand Central annex, preferring instead to use excess Grand Central capacity.

John J. Fruin, Amityville

Editor's note: The writer is a retired transportation planner.
 

Despite concerns from LIRR advocates and riders regarding Metro-North sending new rail service into Penn Station, the proposed change makes a lot of sense. I say this, too, as a daily rider of the LIRR between Penn and Bellmore, who is familiar with the regular rush-hour crunch, including last-minute track changes, short trains and all-too-frequent delays.

As the article says, when the LIRR is finally running in and out of Grand Central, the number of riders to and from Penn should be reduced, thereby allowing Metro-North, in theory, to take up the slack there. As well, one other aspect not mentioned in the article is that space concerns can be alleviated somewhat by using the James A. Farley Post Office across Eighth Avenue from Penn, which is being converted to a train station.

Putting the new Metro-North service in Penn makes sense for another reason: It brings the New York metro area one step closer to an integrated regional transit system already enjoyed by the likes of Paris, London, Tokyo and even a neighbor, Philadelphia. It's a strategically sound idea whose time has come.

Bruce Kanin, North Merrick