Increases in Grand Central ridership

LIRR operating up to 217 trains daily

BY ROBERT PELAEZ

The frst round of full-service transit into Grand Central Madison kicked of on Monday, with 30% of the thousands of Manhattan-bound commuters traveling into the newly constructed train station, ofcials said.

“To be here today in the beautiful new Grand Central Madison concourse is a thrill, LIRR interim President Catherine Rinaldi said in a statement. “This project has been in planning and development since the 1960s and it is revolutionizing travel across the entire region. It has been great to greet so many customers and to see frst-hand the beneft to customers who work on, and need to travel to, the East Side of Manhattan.”

The $11.1 billion project came to fruition with an increase of 2% overall ridership increase on Monday, transit ofcials said. The LIRR’s service is increased by 41% with the addition of the new station, with 271 trains operating each day, ofcials said.

Grand Central will handle increased capacity from the LIRR’s

North Shore train stations produced by express service on the Port Washington line and more commuters from the agency’s 3rd Track Project.

Transit ofcials initially proposed eliminating some express service for the Long Island Rail Road’s Port Washington branch as part of the East Side Access project, but later abandoned plans in the face of strong opposition from elected ofcials and commuters.

Overall, the branch received an 11% boost in service, with more trains becoming available for commuters on the Port Washington Branch, according to the draft schedules following the agency’s announcement.

A total of 103 trains per day service the branch, 10 more than the current schedule has, ofcials said. On weekends, a total of fve more trains, 81 in total, will be operating along the branch.

The draft morning rush hour schedule includes 15 trains arriving in Manhattan between 6:16 a.m. and 9:51 a.m., a 36% increase from the current 11 that arrive at

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