Almost 110 years after it first opened, Grand Central Terminal is getting a new addition: Grand Central Madison.
First conceived in the 1950’s, this new station was built 14 stories under ground, deep in Manhattan bedrock. It connects with new tunnels bored beneath Park Avenue
I toured the construction site
a decade ago, wading through the mud and muck, in a scene that almost defies
description: four huge circular tunnels, two on top of two, emerged from a wall
of solid stone into what would become the new station. It looked like a scene out of a James Bond
movie.
The “East Side Access” project ballooned in cost from an initial $3.5 billion to over $11 billion. It was supposed to be completed by 2010 but… well, you know how these things go.
When it’s up and running (hopefully by the end of the year), this new 350,000-sq-foot subterranean station will serve 162,000 Long Island Railroad passengers each day carried on 24 trains each hour, 20 hours a day. Some Long Island commuters will reportedly save 40 minutes commuting time, not on the LIRR but by being closer to their jobs in the Grand Central area, saving the cross-town trek.
Nice, you say. But what’s in it for Connecticut riders of
Metro-North?
Well, more crowding on the already crowded Lexington Avenue subway, for one. But this new station will also mean some New Haven line trains will be able to terminate, not at Grand Central, but Penn Station.
Penn Station is maxed out for
trains… Amtrak, NJ Transit and the LIRR.
But now that many of those LIRR trains will end up at Grand Central, that leaves room for some Metro-North
New Haven line trains to go to the west side.
Connecticut trains heading to
NYC either hang a right turn at New Rochelle to go to GCT or can now go
straight, just as Amtrak does, continuing over the Hell Gate Bridge into Queens
and then under the East River to Penn
Station.
And on that new route they’ll
soon service four new train stations in The Bronx within one mile of a
half-million transit-starved residents.
Again, nice for them, but what’s in it for us? I mean, who wants to go to The Bronx?
The better question is… might
not those Bronx residents want to look for work in Connecticut? Yes, indeed they undoubtedly will. And they’ll get there not by clogging I-95
but by catching a train.
PS: Remember Governor Lamont and CDOT’s promise
to cut
Metro-North commuting times to NYC?
This is how they’re going to do it… because New Haven line trains
running to Penn Station can actually get there faster than going to Grand
Central, not by much, but enough to say “we did it”.
Yes, it’s years late and
billions over budget, but this “new” Grand Central and its consequent changes
to the region’s commuting patterns will make history.
2 comments:
Won’t Penn Station access require specifically outfitted Metro-North cars because of ‘third rail’ issues ?
My understanding is that Metro-North contacts the underside of the third rail, while LIRR contacts the top of the third rail.
How will that work for this routing ?
Also, will this new interface allow Long Island residents to commute to CT stations directly, or via a train change @ New Rochelle ?
Another interesting perspective: (edited for length)
MTA LIRR EAST SIDE ACCESS TO GRAND CENTRAL MADISON by Larry Penner.
Who knew that there were three sets of Metropolitan Transportation Authority books for Long Island Rail Road East Side Access To Grand Central Terminal now known as Grand Central Madison? (Source: Tunnel Of Deceit The Billion-Dollar Tunnel Shim Sham by Clayton Guse, New York Daily News - October 16). One, internal within the MTA, a second to the Federal Transit Administration and a third to the MTA Board.
MTA Chairman Janno Lieber and New York Governor Kathy Hochul, never shy around a microphone or camera, have never held a press conference to acknowledge that debt service payments for the cost of borrowing brings the true project cost to $12.2 billion. Debt service costs are buried under a separate agency operating budget.
There is another set of books that includes over $4 billion more for indirect costs for what is known as LIRR readiness projects to support ESA service to Grand Central Madison. They take place east of the Woodside Harold Interlockings and are carried off line from the official project budget. These include the $2.6 billion Main Line Third Track, $450 million Jamaica Capacity Improvements, $387 million Ronkonkoma Double Track, $120 million Ronkonkoma Yard Expansion, $44 million Great Neck Pocket Track, $423 million for rail car fleet expansion and others that are necessary for implementation for ESA. Without these projects, the LIRR would lack the expanded operational capabilities to support both promised 24 rush hour train service to Grand Central Madison along with a 40% increase in reverse peak rush hour service. Any honest transportation project cost allocation plan would include these expenditures. This would bring the full true cost of ESA to $16.2 billion. MTA 's inability to provide a specific date for start of service to Grand Central Madison other than by the end of 2022 is dishonest.
Each time the project has been delayed since 2006 from the agreed upon FFGA completion date of 2013,. the MTA has to keep its own Construction Management firm, Independent Engineering Project Management Oversight firm, Office of Capital Construction, LIRR Force Account and other employees on the payroll assigned to ESA for nine more years than originally forecasted in 2006. How much has all of this cost the MTA during the life of this project?
This weeks announcement that the LIRR will start shuttle service to Grand Central Madison Is putting Lipstick on a Pig. Once again, the MTA has left coal in the stockings of commuters. Every Christmas, since 2011 the MTA has failed to initiate the promised East Side Access to Grand Central Madison service. The original Federal Transit Administration Capital Investment New Starts Full Funding Grant Agreement to MTA was approved in 2006.
When it comes to East Side Access, the LIRR 1960's motto "Line of the Dashing Dan" should be changed to "Line of the Slow Moving Sloth." There will still be outstanding work remaining, when service begins to Grand Central Madison. How many of the 72 ESA contracts have already been or will be closed out by December 2022? Many contracts will still the need completion of all contract punch list items (to insure the contractors built the asset to meet design and engineering contract specifications), receipt of all asset maintenance manuals for any project components worth $5,000 or more under each of the remaining open contracts, payments for outstanding bills, and release of contract retainage to contractors.
Was investing $12.2 billion in direct costs for ESA worth it? The verdict is still out. Time will tell if commuters and taxpayers will see all of the benefits from this project promised by elected officials, MTA and LIRR Presidents.
(Larry Penner is a transportation advocate, historian and writer who previously served as a former Director for the Federal Transit Administration Region 2 New York Office of Operations and Program Management.
lwpenner@aol.com
Post a Comment