Garg Consulting Services, Inc.

The East Side Access Project - Grand Central Connection - MTA/LIRR

The East Side Access program intends to improve access to Manhattan's East Side for commuters in the Long Island Transportation Corridor, which includes Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Nassau, and Suffolk counties. The project makes use of the lower level of the existing 63rd Street tunnel under the East River connecting the LIRR to a "terminal within a terminal" at Grand Central. It will have connections to LIRR's Main Line and Port Washington branch and will also include a new commuter rail station in Sunnyside (Queens). GCS is responsible for systems engineering services for LIRR's track, DC traction power system, and signal and communications systems from Sunnyside Yard (Queens) to Grand Central Terminal (Manhattan) and AC traction and catenary system design modifications to the AMTRAK system in Sunnyside Yard and Harold interlockings.

The major tasks of the project include:

System-wide planning
Final design of LIRR's track, power, signal, and communication systems
Improvements to LIRR's Harold Interlocking and design of proposed new interlocking facilities
Design of a new LIRR station within Grand Central Terminal
Design of support facilities at Sunnyside Yard
Modifications to the MTA NYCT Lexington Avenue Station
AC traction and catenary systems design modifications for the AMTRAK system
Operational improvements