The Long Island Rail Road is carrying more passengers than at any point since the COVID-19 pandemic, smashing its post-pandemic ridership record twice in a single week in July 2025 as its Manhattan terminal, Grand Central Madison, draws surging demand.

The railroad carried 298,419 customers on Wednesday, July 23, 2025, its highest single-day total since the pandemic, after carrying 295,419 the day before, according to Governor Kathy Hochul’s office and the MTA. Both days topped the prior post-pandemic high of 287,437, set just weeks earlier on June 19. The week of July 17–23 was the LIRR’s busiest seven-day stretch since the pandemic, with roughly 1.72 million riders.

Grand Central Madison did this

The MTA attributes much of the rebound to Grand Central Madison, the East Side Manhattan terminal beneath Grand Central that opened in 2023 after the decades-long East Side Access megaproject. For the first time, Long Island commuters could ride directly to the East Side instead of being funneled solely into Penn Station on the West Side — cutting commutes for hundreds of thousands of riders and effectively adding capacity to the system.

The terminal has become a destination in its own right. The MTA reports overall rider satisfaction at the station at about 95 percent, and cleanliness ratings of around 96 percent, and it has begun adding seating areas to handle crowds that have outgrown the original layout. New retail and dining have followed.

Reliability at record highs

The ridership surge is coming alongside strong service performance. The LIRR posted 96.6 percent on-time performance through the first half of 2025 — its best rate in its history outside of the unusually low-ridership pandemic years. The combination of record reliability and the new East Side option has reinforced the rebound, the MTA says, as riders who shifted to remote work or driving during the pandemic return to the rails.

What it signals

The numbers matter beyond Long Island. The LIRR is one of the four operating arms whose health underwrites the MTA’s capital ambitions, and rising commuter-rail ridership strengthens the case for the agency’s roughly $68 billion 2025–2029 capital plan. With Grand Central Madison absorbing demand on the East Side and Penn Station heading into a federally led rebuild, the LIRR’s two Manhattan anchors are central to how the region’s commuter network evolves over the next decade.

For now, the headline is simpler: more Long Islanders are riding the train than at any time in years, and they are arriving on time.

Verification

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the LIRR's post-pandemic ridership record?
The Long Island Rail Road carried 298,419 customers on Wednesday, July 23, 2025 — its highest single-day total since the pandemic — and 295,419 the day before. The previous post-pandemic high had been 287,437 on June 19, 2025.
How does Grand Central Madison factor in?
Grand Central Madison, the LIRR's East Side Manhattan terminal beneath Grand Central, opened in 2023 and gave Long Island commuters a direct route to the East Side for the first time. The MTA credits it with much of the ridership surge; rider satisfaction with the station stands at about 95%.
How reliable is the LIRR right now?
Very, by its own historical standards. The railroad reported 96.6% on-time performance through the first half of 2025 — its best rate outside of low-ridership pandemic years.
How busy was that record week overall?
The week of July 17–23, 2025 was the LIRR's busiest seven-day period since the pandemic, with about 1.72 million total riders.