Harold Interlocking News Today

A withering dispute between the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Amtrak could lead to delays in the completion of the Penn Access megaproject

A promise to build a new LIRR station in Sunnyside to provide access to Penn Station was quietly abandoned by then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration in 2016 as the East Side Access project to send LIRR trains to Grand Central grew in both costs and construction delays, federal documents show.

The federally-defined Urbanized Area 1 (UZA 1) comprises New York City and its suburbs, spreading into New Jersey and Connecticut (UZA 2 is L.A., UZA 3 is Chicago, etc.), so when the Federal Transit Administration had $14 billion in COVID aid to send, Albany, Trenton and Hartford had to agree on dividing the cash.

Increased rail capacity will reduce crowding on trains, subways and in Penn Station.

Gov. Kathy Hochul on Sunday rode the first passenger LIRR train into the new concourse at the Midtown East transit hub and gave the public a first look at the

Governor Hochul joined the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to take a special Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) test train to Grand Central Terminal and gave the public one of the first-ever looks at the new 350,000-square-foot East Side Access passenger terminal there.

East Side Access, bringing LIRR trains to Grand Central, was a good idea when New York committed to the project in 1968 and construction began. After generations of government incompetence, waste and sloth, that construction is finally complete.

Governor Cuomo announced the completion of civil construction on East Side Access - the MTA's megaproject connecting the Long Island Rail Road to a new 350,000-square-foot passenger terminal under Grand Central Terminal. 

The $11.1 billion endeavor includes a new 350,000-square-foot passenger terminal under Grand Central that can handle eight trains at a time, doubling the LIRR’s capacity into Manhattan with up to 24 trains per hour.

Long Island commuters can look forward to taking LIRR trains directly to Grand Central Station starting next year as Gov. Cuomo and Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced Thursday that the long-awaited East Side Access project is on time and nearing completion. The $11.1 billion endeavor includes a new 350,000-square-foot passenger terminal under Grand Central that can handle eight ...