(*15*)Riders who get off on the new terminal’s tracks 15 stories beneath floor should experience up three escalators — together with an unlimited one which spans 182 ft diagonally between the station’s mezzanine and concourse. From there, it’s a winding stroll to the lower-level eating space of Grand Central Terminal, then up to the subway platforms.
(*15*)The journey to the subways in Grand Central, which was timed by a Gothamist reporter on Wednesday, is hardly sooner than a subway experience from Penn Station.
(*15*)MTA leaders and Gov. Kathy Hochul hailed the opening of the long-delayed station as a life-changing choice for LIRR commuters certain for Manhattan’s East Aspect. Beforehand, these commuters had to journey to Penn Station earlier than making the journey again east.
(*15*)Peter Divine, who rides the LIRR from Oceanside 5 days per week for his job close to Grand Central, was among the many straphangers analyzing how a lot time the brand new station shaved off his commute.
(*15*)“I’m trying to see if it’s worth it and I don’t know,” Divine mentioned. “Those stairs are really steep. Imagine having a couple drinks in you and losing your balance? Forget it, you’re going to end up in the hospital.”
(*15*)Gothamist had an identical concept. The stroll from the lower-level prepare platforms at Grand Central Madison to the 4/5/6 subway platform at Grand Central took 11 minutes and 20 seconds.
(*15*)The journey might have been shorter if one of many escalators on the LIRR platform had not damaged down the identical day the station opened. However an absence of foot visitors additionally sped up the stroll.
(*15*)Evaluate that to the subway journey from the 4/5/6 subway platforms at Grand Central to the LIRR platforms at Penn Station, which requires a experience on the Instances Sq. shuttle and a switch to the 1, 2 or 3 prepare.
(*15*)That journey took 13 minutes.
(*15*)That quantities to a distinction of 100 seconds throughout common, noon service — or roughly 14 hours of saved time per yr for each day riders.
(*15*)LIRR riders who walked to the East Aspect from Penn Station will profit essentially the most from the brand new terminal. The stroll by means of Midtown between the LIRR platforms at Penn Station and the 4/5/6 subway platforms at Grand Central took Gothamist 20 minutes and 13 seconds.
(*15*)The subterranean stroll from Grand Central Madison to the 4/5/6 in Grand Central Terminal is 9 minutes shorter. Over a complete yr, that provides up to 78 hours of saved time for East Aspect commuters who experience 5 days per week.
(*15*)When requested whether or not commuters will save any time on the opening of Grand Central Madison on Wednesday, Hochul touted the advantages of strolling underground.
(*15*)“We are a cold climate state, people might want to walk from Penn Station during a snowstorm or heavy rain or winds. Or they can come up through this beautiful escalator,” she mentioned. “I would use that time as meditation time. Just use that two-minute experience, let your mind wander.”
(*15*)The brand new terminal was designed to ease congestion at Penn Station as soon as full service is up and working, in addition to increase service on the LIRR. However development started lengthy earlier than the COVID-19 pandemic decimated transit ridership in New York. LIRR ridership stays down roughly 40% compared to 2019.
(*15*)“We can change the minds, the psychology of New Yorkers by giving them something magnificent they deserve,” Hochul mentioned.