41% for Grand Central vs 59% for Penn Station
The immediate reactions were super silly, judging the success of GCM off itâs first few months and new schedule. It gives the LIRR great bones to work with, but now they need to step up and properly stock their fleet and make a schedule that can actually optimize the new capacity. If that happens would not be surprised to see this go almost 50/50
Interesting thread on the continuing degradation of service to Grand Central Madison
They installed seats on the mezzanine level in response to passenger complaints.
People think they can engineer their way out of homelessness. Does not work for that.
Thereâs almost as much passenger seating space in that one photo than there is in all of Grand Central Metro North (which doesnât really have seating outside of the stationmasterâs office unless you count the tables and chairs in the dining course). Metro North passengers just end up sitting on the floor.
It sounds like a bad jokeâŚ
Despite MTA promise, Grand Central Madison still doesnât have a restaurant 2 years in - Gothamist
Nearly two years after the debut of one of the countryâs most expensive train stations, its 32 retail spaces remain vacant. MTA officials promised that would begin to change this fall through the opening of a new outpost of Tracks Raw Bar & Grill on the stationâs concourse. But fall came and went, and thereâs still no bar and no grill near the tracks set 10 stories underground.
Renderings of the plans for the bar remain posted on the glass near the stationâs Long Island Rail Road ticket window, where the transit agency said it plans to locate the dining area. After showing no signs of progress this year, construction barricades finally went up for the new space this week, MTA officials said.
Tracks Bar owner Bruce Caulfield wrote in a text to Gothamist that he plans to open a âpop upâ version of the space by St. Patrickâs Day, to serve âbeer and wine and non alcoholic beverages as well as some snack items.â He said the subterranean space still doesnât have kitchen exhaust.
Thatâs major. You would think they would have planned for that.
Tracks Raw Bar and Grill signed a contract with the MTA in March of 2024 to provide such a place, where crustaceans and Chardonnay will be offered to travelers and passers-by. Predictions were the new (and, currently, the only non-kiosk retail venue in the concourse) would have been opened by October, 2024 as the first restaurant in the new station a quarter mile underground. That was not to be; the contractor of the job had not anticipated lead time on needed metal fabrication work, vital for the space that owner Bruce Caulfield anticipated, in an exclusive conversation with Straus News Manhattan.
âSimply,â Caulfield related, âbetween the need for a lot of metal that was needed and supply chain issues, the project lost a lot of valuable time.â
The MTA, he noted, was upset with how long the construction has been taking, but had been very helpful and had given a transformer to aid in the operation of Tracks at Grand Central Madison once it opens. Construction did start in mid-December.
In the interim, on January 20, there will be a kiosk plus, where a roped-off few tables and chairs will adjoin a small serving area. This is near the LIRR ticket office at the 46th Street end of the concourse.
In a previous statement, Caulfield had indicated that the kiosk would be opened by the middle of March, but now, there is no need to wait until then. He told Straus News Manhattan that he was happy to open after the Holidays to insure that more commuters are able to take advantage of the new space.
An attendant will dispense beer, wine and non-alcoholic beverages and limited snack foods. At last, customers will be able to enjoy their beverage and snack as they wait for the 5:51p.m. train to Babylonâor any other east bound train out of the cityâeither sitting down, or as a grab and go to enjoy on board. The hours for the mini-Tracks will be 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Friday.
Once Tracks Raw Bar and Grill opens in fullânow pushed back to April, five months after its original scheduled openingâthe menu will broaden exponentially, a full bar of alcoholic drinks will be on the menu, and a full waitstaff will be on hand to serve. There will be a separate kitchen/prep area with an electric stove; while piped water has already been connected, there will not be a gas connection. Anticipated hours will be 11 a.m. until 11 p.m. during the week; on weekends, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. To give you a sense of place at the new Tracks, there will be model trains running as well.
Just to correct this article, the station is not âquarter mile underground.â That would be 400m deep, whereas the deepest subway station in the world, in Chongqing, is only 116m below ground. Rather, Grand Central Madisonâs concourse is a quarter mile long.
All that money and they didnât think about ventilation.
That new station is very far underground. Getting ventilation systems up was surely difficult. And I donât know if there is a structure it can go through to avoid venting at street level. Maybe someone with more knowledge about the project than me can give a better answer.
The retail space is not in the deep-level area of the station that contains the train platforms. Itâs in the concourse, which isnât that deep underground.
Thanks for the correction.