NEW YORK – The Metropolitan Transportation Authority held a station operations exercise No. 13 at Grand Central Madison, the new 700,000 square-foot Long Island Rail Road terminal set to debut this year at Grand Central Terminal. Around 200 volunteers participated in an exercise to navigate the concourse and make notes on travel paths throughout the terminal, signage, and general wayfinding elements.
“As visually impressive as Grand Central Madison is, functionality is always key,” Catherine Rinaldi, Interim Long Island Rail Road President and Metro-North Railroad President said in a new release. Approximately 200 volunteers were asked to locate specific destinations throughout the concourse and were invited to provide feedback and suggestions. The event included finding exits, platforms, elevators, multiple indoor locations such as the ticket office, ticket vending machines, and the MTA Police Department office. It also included external locations, such as subway connections, taxi stands, connections to Metro-North Railroad, Citi Bike locations, and other key destinations.
Grand Central Madison is the largest U.S. passenger rail terminal in 67 years and one of the largest transportation infrastructure projects in the country in recent years. The two-level caverns support four platforms and eight tracks, and upon opening will provide Long Island commuters direct access to Manhattan’s East Side. The $11.1-billion project to bring commuter rail service to Manhattan’s East Side is on track to start later this year.
Construction of the East Side Access project began in 2006. The new connection will double LIRR’s capacity into Manhattan with up to 24 trains per hour, and cut travel time for some riders by 40 minutes per day.
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