One Vanderbilt at Grand Central Terminal GCT: LIRR, MNRR, NYCT access

Article is a bit dated: https://nyrej.com/stantec-designed-one- ... y-sl-green

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As part of a unique public-private partnership, these transit improvements will ease the commute and improve the experience for the estimated 750,000 people that passed through the adjacent Grand Central Terminal daily before the pandemic. Furthermore, the East Side Access project, which extends the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) from Queens to Grand Central, is scheduled for completion in 2022 and is expected to bring up to 160,000 additional commuters to this bustling transit area each day.

Infrastructure improvements include a 14,000 s/f pedestrian plaza on Vanderbilt Ave. between Grand Central and One Vanderbilt. Inside the tower, a 4,000 s/f public transit hall and series of below-grade ADA-accessible concourses and corridors provide new and enhanced connections to the Metro-North Railroad, the shuttle to Times Square, and future access to the LIRR station as part of the East Side Access project. The new transit hall’s flow and high-end finishes of stone, tile, glass, and metals echo the distinctive interiors of Grand Central and its clearly organized, airy open spaces.

The long-shuttered passageway between Grand Central and the Socony-Mobil Building at 150 E. 42nd St. has also re-opened with the addition of two street-level subway entrances and a new entrance to the 42nd St. subway station on the southeast corner of 42nd St. and Lexington Ave. Circulation space on the subway platforms and mezzanine has been increased by 37%, providing commuters more room to socially distance and allowing for increased capacity once transit use rebounds to pre-pandemic levels. Enhanced finishes, additional turnstiles and gates, new stairways, escalators, and an ADA-accessible elevator have been added to ease congestion and improve transfers and the overall transit experience in the third busiest station in the city’s subway system.
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I've actually used the new One Vanderbilt entrance to GCT a couple of times now. It's quite nice-- well thought-out. Much better connectivity to the Shuttle platform than the old layout. And its cool seeing the first actual signage for the LIRR concourse.

I'd probably have to try it out myself... but is there a map of the layout?

Unfortunately I don't see myself getting back down to the city any time soon; I'll have to content myself with "fan trips" in CT for now... maybe Amtrak.

STrRedWolf wrote: ↑Tue Apr 06, 2021 3:02 pm I'd probably have to try it out myself... but is there a map of the layout?

You know how when you enter the subway from GCT via the shuttle you swipe in and go downstairs? The One Vanderbilt entrance is pretty much right under that. One Vanderbilt has escalators and a bigger fare control area.

GirlOnTheTrain wrote: ↑Sun Apr 18, 2021 9:09 pm

STrRedWolf wrote: ↑Tue Apr 06, 2021 3:02 pm I'd probably have to try it out myself... but is there a map of the layout?

You know how when you enter the subway from GCT via the shuttle you swipe in and go downstairs? The One Vanderbilt entrance is pretty much right under that. One Vanderbilt has escalators and a bigger fare control area.

Unfortunately, no. Baltimore mook who's only entered GCT from the shuttle (see my trip report). Thus why I ask for the map.

Found this interesting if somewhat dated article which is very thorough: https://untappedcities.com/2020/12/15/l ... re-opened/

We love to discover secret tunnels and hidden passageways here at Untapped New York, so we were excited to hear of the re-opening of a long-shuttered tunnel connecting Grand Central Terminal to the Socony-Mobil Building at 150 E. 42nd Street. The re-opening and renovation of this subterranean pedestrian pathway is part of a $220 million transit improvement project completed in conjunction with the construction of the new skyscraper, One Vanderbilt. Designed by Stantec and funded by SL Green, all components of the massive transit project are now finished and open to the public.

The newly re-opened tunnel was constructed at the same time as the Socony-Mobil Building from which it originates. Now a New York City Landmark, 150 E. 42nd Street was built between 1954 and 1956. The tunnel was completed in 1955 and appears to have closed in 1991. A New York Times article from the time describes the tunnel’s 215-foot route. Starting “twenty feet inside the new skyscraper,” the tunnel “bends northwest from the southeast corner of Lexington and 42nd Street to a point a little south of center in Forty Second.” It then continued west for 120 feet where it met the Chanin Building passageway then bent toward the Commodore Hotel, now the Grand Hyatt. The tunnel was built to allow workers from the Socony-Mobil Building to avoid crossing the busy thoroughfares of Lexington Avenue and 42nd Street at street level.
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Tunnels have snaked through the streets surrounding Grand Central Terminal since the early 20th century when Terminal City was being constructed. Terminal City was a network of hotels and office buildings centered around the transit hub. Many of the buildings, such as the Roosevelt Hotel, the Biltmore Hotel, and more, had their own underground passageways that led directly into the terminal.
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One thing the article did not mention os the the reopened passageway is accessed from a new street entrance at the S.E. corner of Lex & E42 rather than from inside the Socony-Mobil Bldg. It is possible that the current owners of the bldg did not want an underground access to their bldg.

I don't know what the terms of agreement Socony had with the TA back when it was built but one agreement I am aware of for another bldg (a former employer of mine) stated that if the owner of a bldg with an inside entrance to the subway wanted to close it, they had to build an entrance on the street. This may explain why a street entrance was built to the passageway.

Just a quick update:

I wanted to double check what I posted so I went back to the passageway as described in the Untapped Cities article in Jeff's posting above, and any entry to the Socony-Mobil Building no longer exists.