AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
New York, NY (77WABC)-The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) today announced Long Island Rail Road service to Grand Central Madison will begin Wednesday, Jan. 25.
The first train is scheduled to originate at Jamaica at 10:45 a.m. and run express to Grand Central Madison where it is scheduled to arrive at 11:07 a.m. For at least three weeks, LIRR will operate limited shuttle service between Jamaica and Grand Central Madison so customers can acquaint themselves with the new terminal as existing schedules continue. This will be followed by LIRR initiating full service from Long Island to Grand Central, per schedules that will be posted on new.mta.info/GrandCentralMadison and in the TrainTime app.
The train will be the first of regularly scheduled Grand Central Direct trains to operate between Jamaica and Grand Central Madison. Trains will operate between 6:15 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. on weekdays and from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. on weekends. Trains will run every 30 minutes in both directions during weekday midday periods and on weekends and once per hour during peak periods (arriving in Grand Central between 6:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. and departing between 4:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.)
Grand Central Direct schedules will be available in the TrainTime app and at new.mta.info/GrandCentralMadison
During this initial period, the LIRR will have customer ambassadors on the Grand Central Madison concourse to greet customers and offer information about the new space. LIRR customers looking to travel to Grand Central Madison can use Penn Station tickets, as Penn Station and Grand Central Madison are in the same fare zone.
This special Grand Central Direct service will conclude with the initiation of full train service mirroring what was previewed in draft schedules published last June. To enable travel planning, the MTA will provide notice when full schedules, increasing overall LIRR service by 41%, are scheduled to go into effect.
