The Grand Central Madison station has opened, offering a new option for getting to NYC from JFK airport.
Commuters and travelers can take the JFK AirTrain to Jamaica, Queens, then transfer to a train to Grand Central Terminal or Penn Station on Manhattan’s East Side via the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR).
“Grand Central Madison is a game-changer for New Yorkers, and I look forward to welcoming Long Island commuters to our tremendous new terminal,” said New York’s Governor Hochul in a statement. “Better connections between millions of New Yorkers and their homes, families, and jobs is the essence of infrastructure, and this project is an extraordinary step forward.”
Trains run at the new station weekdays 6:15 am – 8 pm and weekends 7 am – 11 pm, with a 30-minute frequency in both directions, except peak hours with 1 hour frequency. The new station is LIRR’s first expansion in 112 years. LIRR Interim President Catherine Rinaldi calls it the “dawn of a new era,” as customers now have a choice to go west or east. It is as significant as LIRR’s 1910 opening of service to Penn Station.
The station greets travelers with illuminated halls and glass mosaics, featuring a Yayoi Kusama piece, “A Message of Love, Directly from My Heart unto the Universe,” spanning 875 sq. ft. Travelers can also access subway lines 4, 5, 6, 7, and S, as well as the Metro-North Railroad for destinations north of the city, such as Westchester.
