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Strawbalicious t1_j5uagin wrote

What did you think of it? I like that it's new and clean, but also thought it was a pretty long walk from Grand Central to get to the platforms.

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thebruns t1_j5ubk4e wrote

Why are the up and down directions reversed

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dadefresh t1_j5udxh0 wrote

Day 1 and an escalator is broken.

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newestindustry t1_j5ueas0 wrote

Now brick it up until they start building apartments by LIRR stations.

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WorthPrudent3028 t1_j5ug6d4 wrote

Can you access it directly from the subway or do you need to go all the way up into the main terminal hall and then back down?

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sillo38 t1_j5uhqnc wrote

Seems like their ventilation solution was just boxing off the dining concourse entrance and adding two sets of doors.

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DMenace83 t1_j5ukndj wrote

Replying to Strawbalicious (#1,487,187)

Enjoy it while it lasts, it won't be new and clean in a few months.

NYC doesn't like to keep things new. Unlike other countries, nobody is employed to clean the escalators, floors, walls, ceilings, etc...

−21

lilmixedbunny85 t1_j5ulk9f wrote

so this is in Grand Central Terminal or it's a separate stop?

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BronxLens t1_j5uq5lv wrote

Where is the entrance to the top of this escalator located? i.e. Via Madison but between which streets?

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TeamMisha t1_j5ur4ex wrote

Replying to BronxLens (#1,489,061)

The super long escalators connect the platform mezzanines to the new concourse, it is in essence between/under Madison Ave and Vanderbilt Ave. You can access the concourse from the dining level in the terminal and at a few entrances from along Madisom between I believe 48th and 42nd

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TeamMisha t1_j5urg9z wrote

I still can't believe it is actually open and even has trains lol. This is 10+ years in the making right? I toured it today, clean and spacious, the depth is annoying of course, think the escalator up without walking is almost a minute long. Platforms are nice design as well, they have no columns on the platform so you have plenty of space to wait unlike at Penn

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ivazquez71 t1_j5uro1o wrote

Does it have its own restrooms? New spots to poop is appreciated.

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sillo38 t1_j5usxg8 wrote

Replying to mrturdferguson (#1,488,156)

yeah they look very temporary. It was probably the fastest way to get the station open. Hopefully they can solve whatever the issue is and open it up like I'm guessing it was designed to be. If they can't they should at least come up with some better looking doors.

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getmendoza99 t1_j5uvqc4 wrote

So the time it takes to get from the train to the street nixes the gains from not having to take the subway from Penn?

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NYCstraphanger t1_j5uwnaa wrote

It will take forever to go up those stairs during rush hour. Also, they should designate a walk up only escalator as people are so lazy and just stand when they can treat them like moving stairs. Surprisingly, since the pandemic, now people stay to the right on the escalator at Penn during rush hour. Pre-pandemic this was not the norm and there would be confrontations about moving over so people can walk up.

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SerKikato t1_j5uzy4t wrote

Replying to DMenace83 (#1,488,384)

To be honest, as a non-native, part of the mystique or culture shock to moving here was seeing the rust on steel and the grime on Century old tile. A lot of stations and buildings are like time machines into an entirely different era. There's history in those old bones.

But new constructions do stay new. Moynihan is 2 years old and looks just as clean as it did when it opened. Hudson Yards looks just as good as any Mall overseas.

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IJustBringItt t1_j5v0183 wrote

Does anyone know how often LIRR posts up vacant conductor positions? Is it once a year?

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Lonewolf5333 t1_j5v0i9t wrote

This isn’t authentic unless at least one escalator is out.

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SerKikato t1_j5v28v2 wrote

Replying to TeamMisha (#1,489,207)

The concept was proposed in March 1954 and backed by a $658 million construction program. In 1963 the idea to add an LIRR track to the GCT-Queens connection was proposed, and construction began in 1969.

The MTA was only able to complete about 2/3rds of the tunnel before the financial crisis of 1975 put an end to ESA.

In 1997 Senator Al D'Amato asked for federal funds to complete the project. In 1999 the MTA proposed $17 Billion to capital projects with $1.6 Billion going to East Side Access. The idea was that it would complete within 10 years.

The rejuvenated project flew through red tape relatively quickly, with the final plan approved in 2002 and the land acquired in 2003. After finally getting funds approved and choosing their contractor in 2006, construction resumed in 2007 once the new boring machines arrived.

From 2007 till now, ESA was under construction. Total time from first being proposed to the public until opening was 69 years and 10 months. Time from first shovel dig to opening was 53 years and 4 months. Time from the its 2007 restart until opening was 15 years and 4 months.

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DMenace83 t1_j5v7td1 wrote

Replying to mrturdferguson (#1,488,854)

I'll be honest I haven't, but I do see stations like the Flushing Main St escalators brand new at the time they were built, but in less than a year, dust and grime started to coat the nice walls. Now, it's just a thick black layer of dust that nobody else bothers to clean.

On the flip side, I look at places like Japan, there are cleaning crew running around 24/7 cleaning the stations, wiping the escalator handles, stairs, etc. And everywhere is so nice and clean.

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DaoFerret t1_j5vao4d wrote

Replying to SerKikato (#1,490,187)

It’s part of why Star Wars pioneered a more “gritty” and realistic SciFi.

Technology always looks new when it first comes out, but it tends to show wear over time.

Most SciFi till then had kept everything sparkling and pretty. StarWars showed the wear of “old” technology, which leant an air of credibility and reality to it that earlier works didn’t have.

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virtual_adam t1_j5vgjym wrote

So we paid for the bridge and tunnel to have an easier time to get to the city? F it charge them triple the current plan for congestion pricing

−7

colfer2 t1_j5w1z6s wrote

Replying to TeamMisha (#1,489,207)

Maybe the location between 45th and 48th is more annoying than the depth. Street entrances are at 44th, 47th and 48th, escalators at 45th, 46th, 47th, 48th. The wheelchair route is between 46th and 47th from the tunnel under Vanderbilt Avenue. https://new.mta.info/map/24956

That tunnel looks small to handle a 50% increase in LIRR service. Is that what 50% means, that many trains to GCM?

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spader1 t1_j5w704g wrote

I must be in the minority here, but I find it extremely disorienting when wall panels in an escalator hall are canted to be perpendicular to the escalators, like here and (especially) at Hudson Yards. I see the lines in my periphery and subconsciously start to lean backward.

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newnewreditguy t1_j5w9hij wrote

This project was such a mess for so long. Notice the head of the mta said going forward they'll move with a "modern design build approach".

The red tape and mediocrity in government projects is unbelievable. Design build means getting rid of a lot of positions that contribute almost nothing to a project and instead go straight with the contractors that know how to build right from the beginning. Hopefully they stick to it.

https://youtu.be/7iisAHuytA8

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TeamMisha t1_j5wdny1 wrote

Replying to colfer2 (#1,494,782)

> Is that what 50% means, that many trains to GCM?

My understanding is originally they assumed 50% of current Penn-bound commuters would want to go to GCM so they could basically divert half the trains. I don't know what the final schedules are, I think they are being posted this week. I believe they do not have the crew and equipment to add a net 50% increase in service, i.e. 50% + existing to Penn, instead they will split service between the two.

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I-Sleep-At-Work t1_j5whtxy wrote

i would not rush to walk down this escalator... the hudson yard one already kinda make my head spin, this looks even deeper

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City_bound t1_j5wirp5 wrote

They should keep homeless out of the terminal

−2

murbike t1_j5wq59k wrote

That's a cool station.
There's one in DC (Alexandria, I think) that's steeper, and pretty long.

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LVorenus2020 t1_j5wu4ut wrote

Are there stairs or an elevator? Beyond a certain height, I opt away from escalators.

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mdude04 t1_j5wxm24 wrote

Almost as deep as the list of people who were on the MTA payroll for this project until an auditor came in and could not find any reason why they were being paid

Edit: It was around 22% of the payroll in 2017. Hundreds of people being paid $30,000 a month for no identifiable reason. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/28/nyregion/new-york-subway-construction-costs.html

"Nobody knew what those people were doing, if they were doing anything," said Michael Horodniceanu, who was then the head of construction at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority

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woodcider t1_j5xi2d1 wrote

Replying to mrturdferguson (#1,488,854)

Every time there’s a budget crisis the first people they cut are Cleaners. Then there’s a rise in track fires and service gets messed up. They haven’t figured out that these things cascade. Keeping the stations clean should be a higher priority.

1

Vizualize t1_j5yuelz wrote

For my schedule the train to GCT takes about 10-20 minutes longer than going to Penn, depending on the train. Between the walk and the extra waiting time, it's faster to take the 1,2,3 to TSQ and take the Shuttle train over.

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torchwood18 t1_j5yvmx7 wrote

It’s a bunker / fallout shelter for trump and his rich friends

/s

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monica702f t1_j5yyn8g wrote

Third escalator from the left broke down once they let everyone downstairs. Was halfway down when it grinded to a halt and we almost fell down!

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runninhillbilly t1_j6052d3 wrote

Replying to murbike (#1,497,809)

DC has a few really long ones. Rosslyn (yes, with 2 s) is I think the longest, but Cleveland Park and one of the other red line stations have ones that are close.

Source: Live in DC area, came over here just to see what people were saying about the new train service

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