After years in limbo, Grand Central's long-awaited upgrade is finally complete. A $700 million project aimed at revitalizing three 42nd Street stations - Times Square, Bryant Park, and Grand Central itself - has been finished, officials announced on Tuesday.
The revamped station boasts a range of new amenities designed to improve the overall passenger experience. Gone are the cramped platforms and walkways; in their place are 30 newly installed turnstiles, 38 widened staircases, 10 modernized escalators, 10 new elevators, and an expanded mezzanine floor that allows commuters to navigate before reaching the platforms for trains running on the 4, 5, 6, and 7 lines.
The project's completion comes after years of construction that left passengers frustrated with frequent delays and lack of communication from MTA officials. To mitigate this, the agency opted to consolidate multiple smaller projects into a single operation, streamlining the process and reducing inconvenience for riders. As MTA Chair Janno Lieber noted, "We heard from lots and lots of riders that they were burned by so much blue plywood up; they had no sense of the schedule... We brought them all together under a single management operation."
The overhaul was completed at a cost of $700 million - $46 million under budget. The upgrade is part of a broader effort to modernize the MTA's aging infrastructure, with over $65 billion earmarked for similar "state of good repair" work in the next five years.
As MTA Construction Chief Jamie Torres-Springer pointed out, this upgrade is crucial to maintaining the reliability and safety of the system. The agency has plans to award a contract later this year to build four new elevators at the Bryant Park station, aiming to make it fully accessible for all passengers.
The revamped station boasts a range of new amenities designed to improve the overall passenger experience. Gone are the cramped platforms and walkways; in their place are 30 newly installed turnstiles, 38 widened staircases, 10 modernized escalators, 10 new elevators, and an expanded mezzanine floor that allows commuters to navigate before reaching the platforms for trains running on the 4, 5, 6, and 7 lines.
The project's completion comes after years of construction that left passengers frustrated with frequent delays and lack of communication from MTA officials. To mitigate this, the agency opted to consolidate multiple smaller projects into a single operation, streamlining the process and reducing inconvenience for riders. As MTA Chair Janno Lieber noted, "We heard from lots and lots of riders that they were burned by so much blue plywood up; they had no sense of the schedule... We brought them all together under a single management operation."
The overhaul was completed at a cost of $700 million - $46 million under budget. The upgrade is part of a broader effort to modernize the MTA's aging infrastructure, with over $65 billion earmarked for similar "state of good repair" work in the next five years.
As MTA Construction Chief Jamie Torres-Springer pointed out, this upgrade is crucial to maintaining the reliability and safety of the system. The agency has plans to award a contract later this year to build four new elevators at the Bryant Park station, aiming to make it fully accessible for all passengers.
just heard about the makeover of Grand Central Station! I'm so stoked that they're finally done with the upgrade! 
It's been years in the making and I can only imagine how frustrating it must've been for commuters dealing with those cramped platforms and delayed trains. 
All those new turnstiles, staircases, escalators, and elevators are gonna make navigating a breeze. And I love that they consolidated smaller projects to streamline the process, talk about communication is key! 
It's crazy how much of a difference these new turnstiles and escalators are gonna make. No more awkwardly navigating with 30+ people waiting in line at the same time 
! And wow, $46 million under budget? That's some top-notch management right there 
. I'm so down for that expanded mezzanine floor too - less chaos means more sanity 
. Can't wait to see how they do with the new elevators at Bryant Park, making it fully accessible for everyone 
!
and btw, thats so cool that theyre planning to make bryant park fully accessible too
. It was so frustrating as a regular rider. But now, with 30 new turnstiles and all those widened staircases, it's a whole different story 
And yeah, making Bryant Park fully accessible is a great plan 
. But now that it's done, can we talk about how we're gonna deal with all this extra space? Are they gonna increase the number of trains or something? 
I'm so hyped about the new turnstiles and wider staircases - it's gonna be way easier for people to navigate during rush hour 
Now let's hope this sets the tone for the rest of the MTA's modernization efforts 
. now, if only they could do something about those long delays... but overall, this upgrade is a major win for nyc commuters 
. glad they consolidated projects instead of doin' a buncha smaller ones 
. btw, 10 new elevators at bryant park? that's awesome for accessibility 
Gone are the cramped platforms and walkways, replaced with turnstiles, staircases, escalators, elevators... everything is just SO modern and comfy! 
I can only imagine how frustrating those years of construction must've been for everyone, but it was all worth it in the end. 
And to top it off, they're making Bryant Park station fully accessible for all passengers?!?! 
. Now we can expect even better things with $65 billion earmarked for "state of good repair" work over the next five years 
my school's maintenance team needs to take some notes from the mta lol
. I'm not going to lie, I was skeptical at first when I heard it was only $46 million under budget - but hey, if it means less frustration for riders, who cares, right? 
Still, I guess consolidating smaller projects into one operation made sense in hindsight... or did it just lead to more delays and frustration? 
. And I'm heartened to hear about plans to make Bryant Park station fully accessible 
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. Over $65 billion for "state of good repair" work? That sounds like a whole lotta money being thrown around