Encore: As Grand Central Service Begins Some LIRR Customers Get Lost in the Shuffle
I am still on the road and just completed a three-day drive from Texas to Florida so I haven’t had time to write a new post. Recycling one of my first, which I published before most of you subscribed.
BONUS:
Enjoy this brief clip of a Brightline train at top speed shot out the passenger window of my car.
FEB 27, 2023
Today was the big day. The Long Island Rail Road began providing direct service to the new Grand Central Madison station instead of just shuttle trains from Jamaica. Schedules for all LIRR routes changed dramatically. Roughly half of the trains will still go to Penn Station with the other half going to Grand Central. However, now almost all trains to Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn will be shuttles that start at Jamaica station.
The changes affect hundreds of thousands of riders. Some have better service now because they no longer have to take the subway from Penn Station to Grand Central to get to jobs on the East Side of Manhattan. For others, service is worse since they have fewer trains and must waiting in Jamaica for a connection to their destination.
My line, the Long Beach branch, was hard hit, especially between 7 am and 8 am – the peak hour of peak travel. Before there were four city-bound trains in that time period, one to Atlantic Terminal and three to Penn Station, including two that skipped Jamaica. Now, there are just two, one each to Penn Station and Grand Central, and they both stop at Jamaica.
As a former LIRR commuter, I wanted to know what the new service would look like so I got up early to ride one of those two trains. Due to circumstances beyond my control, I missed both and caught the following train at 8:04. My plan was to get off at Jamaica, transfer to a shuttle for Atlantic Terminal, and take the subway to Grand Central where I would catch a train home.
We departed from Oceanside at 8:05, one minute late, and arrived in Jamaica 21 minutes later, roughly on time. I was heading toward the escalator to catch the Atlantic Terminal shuttle when I noticed a train arriving on the adjacent track and going to the same destination. It was a through train to Brooklyn that originated in Freeport, a rarity on the new schedule. I got on board and found a seat.
Three minutes after my train from Oceanside arrived I was underway again. But not for long. We came to a halt just beyond the Van Wyck Expressway and waited a few minutes, presumably to let another train by. The rest of the ride was uneventful, and I reached Atlantic Terminal at 8:54, three minutes ahead of when MTA’s website said I would arrive. However, the ride took 50 minutes, roughly 10 minutes more than before.Since I was seated toward the rear, I had to walk two cars forward to get off the train. I spotted a subway entryway on the platform and used the remaining money on my Metrocard to pay my fare. When I got to the subway platform the train to Grand Central was waiting.
At 9:00 a.m. the doors closed and I was off again. Many Long Islanders who work in Lower Manhattan use Atlantic Terminal. I could see why. The train took just seven minutes to reach Bowling Green, the first stop in Manhattan, and another minute to get to the next stop, Wall Street. The entire trip to Grand Central consumed only 20 minutes.
I got off and took an escalator to Grand Central Terminal’s upper level. As I walked across the busy concourse I spotted the archway that would lead me to the Long Island Rail Road section of the station. My hike from the subway to the LIRR took just 5 ½ minutes, not bad for a guy approaching 70.
My train home was scheduled to leave in 15 minutes so I headed to the escalator that would take me to concourse level where other escalators (much shorter) lead to the trackside platforms. The long, steep descent scares me. I dread to think what would happen if someone tripped and fell, especially during rush hour.
The train left on time at 9:41 am. Only one other rider was in my car. As we departed, I heard a loud thumping sound. I suspected one of the wheels had a flat spot. We plodded along and never reached top speed. The train arrived in Jamaica, where I had to change for Oceanside, four minutes late.
My train home was made up of M-3 cars that date to 1985 and are being retired. This was the first time I rode in one since they were placed back into service to alleviate a car shortage. By 10:37 I was back in Oceanside and heading to my car.
People who work or live on the East Side have suddenly become the LIRR’s “haves.” They have a shiny new station with plenty of service and they no longer have to go across town to reach Penn Station. Brooklyn passengers, who comprise less than 10 percent of the railroad’s ridership, are the “have nots.” They have lost virtually all through service, must now walk up and over instead of across the platform to change at Jamaica, and have longer travel times.
The new schedules add 10 minutes or more to many commuters’ trips. It might not sound like a lot of time, but when you do it ten times a week it adds up pretty quickly. Lost productivity and quality time with family will undoubtedly lead many to work from home or find more convenient employment.
Grand Central Madison is a great facility if you can use it, and it will provide better service for people coming or going to Midtown East. However, now the Long Island Rail Road needs to shift focus from its newest route to its oldest.
The Atlantic Branch between Atlantic Terminal and Jamaica entered service when Andrew Jackson was President and Texas was trying to secede from Mexico. With the LIRR’s bicentennial just 11 years away, it is time to make it shine anew.
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