Grand Central Madison Operational Readiness
Client: Long Island Rail Road (LIRR)
Location: New York, NY
Start date: 2022
End date: 2023
Duration: 12 Months
Services provided: Rail Activation Planning, FTA and FRA Advice, Station Operations,Project Management, Operational Readiness
Grand Central Madison (GCM) and associated infrastructure is the MTA’s largest capital project. The finished project, opened in January 2023, provides Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) riders with 40 miles of new tracks, a new terminal beneath Grand Central Terminal, and includes the modernization of the busiest intersection of passenger train lines in North America.
Network Rail Consulting, Inc. (NRC) assisted LIRR with Operational Readiness and Rail Activation Commissioning activities to support the safe and successful activation and ongoing management of the new terminal and infrastructure.
NRC, along with our MWBE and SDVOB partners, were selected because of our experience with station operations at complex terminals, operational readiness, infrastructure management, operations management, and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) requirements. As a peer railroad, we were able to provide LIRR with accelerated learning around challenges related to operational readiness for complex infrastructure projects.
This is a continuation of our previous work of developing recommendations for the project’s Rail Activation Plan. In this project, NRC:
- Reviewed the GCM Rail Activation Plan and provided recommendations based on international best practice;
- Reviewed and updated engineering standard operating procedures;
- Conducted a dry run of the project’s Federal Transit Administration Readiness for Revenue Service review and produced corrective action plans;
- Developed a Vertical Transportation Operating Plan in line with international best practices to effectively manage the complex vertical transportation elements at the new terminal;
- Planned and delivered tabletop and live exercises simulating various scenarios around operations, security, and facilities management, including a live exercise involving 200 customer volunteers accessing the terminal prior to revenue service; and
- Supported LIRR with development of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Pre-Revenue Safety Validation Plan in advance of revenue service.
The outcome of this project is to prepare LIRR for safe and successful revenue service into Grand Central Madison.