All About the East Side Access Project and Why It Will Make 300K Commuters Happy

Hundreds of thousands of Long Island commuters who ride the Long Island Rail Road have a certain date in mind: December 2022. That’s when the long-awaited East Side Access project is estimated to be completed, which means Long Island commuters will have two final Manhattan destination choices: Penn Station or Grand Central Terminal.

Heavy construction began in late 2006 for this $11 billion commuter rail infrastructure project that is headed by the Metropolitan Transit Authority. According to MTA spokesman Aaron Donovan, the East Side Access project is one of the largest transportation infrastructure projects currently underway in the United States.

With so much of the work for the East Side Access project taking place in Queens and below Grand Central Station, it’s not easily apparent how significant this commuter rail upgrade is. Here’s the lowdown. 

What Is the Scope of the East Side Access Project?

This project has been 50 years in the making for the Long Island Rail Road system, which has been in existence since 1834 and is considered the busiest commuter railroad in North America.

While many NYC residents are not bridge-and-tunnel people, it will improve the lives of about 300,000 people who use the LIRR each day on 735 trains, of which an estimated 233,000 make the weekday trek into Penn Station. Once the East Side Access project is done, the MTA estimates 162,000 LIRR trips per weekday into Grand Central, but is expecting that number to grow in association with the East Midtown Rezoning project, off-peak ridership growth, ridership from Queens stations, and the connection to AirTrain LGA.

Its finalization will mean a new Grand Central LIRR terminal, eased congestion at Penn Station and better train service from Grand Central to JFK Airport and LaGuardia. It will also supplement the existing service from Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn.

–> See incredible photos of the East Side Access Project

The project encompasses work in multiple locations in Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx and includes more than eight miles of tunneling and eight new train tracks. Its primary delivery will be a new, 350,000-square-foot terminal and concourse below Grand Central Terminal. The floor of the mezzanine of the future LIRR station will be 140 feet below Park Avenue, or 91 feet below the current lower level of Grand Central’s dining concourse.

The new LIRR terminal at Grand Central will include 47 escalators, 22 elevators and 250,000 square feet of retail space, which will make waiting for trains a far more enjoyable for commuters. 

One billion of the project’s $11 billion price tag will be used to significantly upgrade the Harold Interlocking system in Queens, which is used by Amtrak and the LIRR and is considered the busiest train intersection in all of North America with the passing of more than 800 trains a day. New tracks, signals, power sources and modernized communications systems will ensure this major train hub can provide convenient and safe service for a new generation of commuters and travelers.

It’s Not Just LIRR Commuters That Benefit

Additionally, the Metropolitan Transit Authority says that new East Side Access project will increase the LIRR’s capacity into Manhattan, and “dramatically shorten travel time for Long Island and eastern Queens commuters traveling to the east side of Manhattan.”

Another big benefit to New Yorkers will be Grand Central Terminal’s ability to provide travelers with a connection from East Midtown to JFK International Airport via the AirTrain at LIRR’s Jamaica station.

The freed-up tracks at Penn Station will also allow trains from the MTA Metro-North Railroad’s New Haven Line to have access to Penn Station through Queens. The accompanying Penn Station Access project means that four new stations are being built in the East Bronx. This will significantly cut travel times to and from Manhattan, and ease crowding on the city’s subway system.