NEW YORK — On Tuesday, Governor Kathy Hochul announced that Long Island Railroad exceeded one million paying customers traveling to or from Madison Grand Central Terminalwhich began full service on February 27.
The milestone was reached on Friday, April 7. In addition, the LIRR announced several pandemic-era passenger records achieved since Grand Central Madison opened for full service.
On Saturday, April 8 and Sunday, April 9, the railroad saw record ridership over the pandemic-era weekend as New Yorkers used public transit to get around over the weekend of holidays: 108,740 passengers traveled on Saturday and 98,030 traveled on Sunday. On Tuesday, March 21, 213,026 customers checked into the LIRR, surpassing the previous pandemic-era record of November 2022.
“We have made historic investments in public transit on Long Island, making it easier to connect travelers throughout the region,” Governor Hochul said. “With the millionth passenger crossing Grand Central Madison just months after the terminal opened, it shows how essential this service has become for New Yorkers in a short time.”
The LIRR also announced several milestones reached since the opening of Grand Central Madison. In March, the LIRR sold 358,609 City ticketswhich offers off-peak rides in New York for $5, an increase of 118.5% over the previous March.
He Combined ticketan opportunity for customers to purchase discounted tickets when traveling on the LIRR and Metro-North Railroad on the same route thanks to the opening of Grand Central Madison, has been used by more than 4,000 customers since its launch.
As of April 18, 2023, 15,503 LIRR trains have arrived or departed from Grand Central Madison. popular app TrainTime The MTA saw over 370,000 tickets purchased for travel to or from Grand Central Madison.
“Opening full service at Grand Central Madison enables unprecedented connection while enabling generational increases in service,” said Catherine Rinaldi, interim president of LIRR and president of Metro-North Railroad. “As promised, we are listening to our customers and improving the service to better meet their needs. Thanks to the changes we have introduced, we have significantly reduced delays and crowds, and customers have responded by taking the train in record numbers in the pandemic era.”
In recent weeks, longer trains and schedule adjustments have been introduced, increasing comfort and reliability, and increasing punctuality above 93.5%. Since February 27, the LIRR has surpassed 200,000 passengers in 16 days, a threshold the railway had passed only twice in the first 57 days of 2023.
The highest daily ridership in Grand Central Madison was reached on Tuesday, April 11, with approximately 32,060 customers entering and leaving the new Manhattan terminal.
To mark the milestone of surpassing one million rides, the LIRR welcomed two customers from Grand Central Madison to join the celebration: Ray Ragunauth and Karen Hamilton. Ragunauth is a Long Island resident and physical therapist who has been able to pursue new career opportunities in the East Coast from Manhattan thanks to the shorter route provided by Grand Central Madison.
Hamilton is a resident of Laurelton, Queens, who has benefited from both the introduction of more frequent service at Queens train stations and the opening of Grand Central Madison, where he travels frequently with his mother for appointments. you medical at NYU Langone Health.
“In 2020, my wife and I decided to leave town and go to Long Island and buy a house there, but my heart has always belonged to the city. And over the past six months, I have had the opportunity to go back to work on the Upper East Side in a hospital up there,” said LIRR client Ray Ragunauth. “And, once my wife, who is already traveling to the Upper East Side, started using the Grand Central Line, its journeys dropped to around 20-30 minutes and it became obvious to me to get back into the city and be in a city that I love.”