Not so big: New York riders outraged as MTA launches ‘Madison’ LIRR changes

On Monday, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority launched the Long Island Railroad’s biggest rescheduling in 50 years, with dozens of trains serving the new Grand Central-Madison terminal, in part by reducing flights between the suburbs and Brooklyn.

Crowds crowded the platforms of the sprawling LIRR hub in Jamaica as passengers navigated drastic changes that also forced the railroad to shorten its trains to free up cars for new additional services in the glittering new downtown Midtown East.

“BK customers are really left in the dust,” wrote one of the LIRR riders, who asked not to be named but sent a photo of a filled platform in Jamaica. “It was more chaotic than usual. Much more crowded. No faster commute.”

Another passenger said she had no choice but to find a way to make the new service work, although she praised the MTA’s recently updated commuter rail app.

“I’m just looking at the app. I have to get where I need to go no matter what,” said Tamara Dorismond, a 27-year-old commuter. “It’s just a new schedule, we really don’t have a choice.”

Meanwhile, some passengers making their first trip to the giant $11 billion LIRR train station under Grand Central have complained that poor signage makes navigation difficult and that it takes so long to get down to the platforms, which are 150 feet deep. the time savings from being dropped off at Midtown was eaten up.

“It took me 10 minutes to figure out how to get down here. I could walk to Pennsylvania Station in the same amount of time it took me to get here,” said Prudence commuter.

“The schedule is also bad. I’m sure it will get better – although (the station) is very beautiful.”

Others were more positive.

“It cuts my trips by about an hour,” said 21-year-old Nick Jablonsky. “Comparing the 20 minute time it takes to get here to the 45 minute time it takes to get to Pennsylvania Station, if I do it often, it can really make a difference.”

Officials said roughly 30 percent of commuters Monday morning during Manhattan’s rush hour decided to go to Grand Central Madison.

MTA officials have touted the new schedules and say they increase the number of LIRR flights by 40 percent compared to the amount of service offered by the railroad in 2022, well below the number of trains running before the pandemic.

Overall, the MTA expected about 1,000 trains to LIRR on Monday, with almost 300 departing or departing from Grand Central Madison.

The new Midtown hub gives the MTA the opportunity to significantly expand LIRR service from Long Island to Manhattan, which was limited by space constraints at Pennsylvania Station before the coronavirus pandemic hit and ridership plummeted.

In addition, officials say the expansion of a third track on the Main Line to Hicksville will allow the MTA to provide permanent return service between the five boroughs and some of its largest suburbs for the first time.

Officials tentatively announced the schedule changes in the fall, but LIRR activists accused the railroad of not making major changes to the projects before rolling them out on Monday.

The new advances come with some major compromises for the LIRR and its riders.

MTA officials scrawled much of the Atlantic Terminal arrival schedule to free up trains for their new downtown hub, replacing it with a new shuttle that runs every 12 minutes during peak hours and every 20 minutes the rest of the day.

The shuttles are out of sync with the rest of Jamaica’s LIRR schedule, a decision that left many cold and frustrated as they raced to make a connection, or saw it recede in the distance.

This disrupted the usual routes for Long Islanders heading to Brooklyn or the Financial District, who would use the Atlantic Terminal as a convenient subway transfer point.

“This is a new track. I didn’t even realize until now. Now I’m in a hurry for the next train,” said one man, hurrying to change trains.

According to a 2016 study, passengers bound for Lower Manhattan, the Financial District, and Brooklyn make up 28 percent of LIRR passengers. That’s more than those heading to the Midtown East or the Upper East Side.

“My [second] Trying to board a train bound for Brooklyn had me running up the stairs again with a crowd of passengers,” Patrick said in a message to a Post reporter. “The train was 10 minutes late”

However, the MTA has highlighted the benefits of its long-awaited terminal.

“Tens of thousands of New Yorkers chose Grand Central Madison on its first day of full-service operation, taking advantage of a historic 41 percent increase in LIRR service, an unprecedented return itinerary, and up to 40 minutes of travel time savings,” an MTA spokesman said. Sean Butler