Grand Central Terminal New York

About Grand Central Terminal New York

Grand Central Terminal sits at 89 East 42nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, a Beaux-Arts landmark built in 1913 and rebuilt-around in the 1970s and 2010s. It is one of the busiest train stations in the United States, handling Metro-North services to upstate New York, Connecticut, and the Hudson Valley, plus Long Island Rail Road services from the new Grand Central Madison concourse that opened in 2023. The terminal is a tourist landmark in its own right, with the Main Concourse and celestial-ceiling mural drawing visitors regardless of whether they have a train to catch.

For transfers, Grand Central is a practical pickup and drop point for guests staying at Midtown hotels along Park Avenue, Madison Avenue, or the Lexington Avenue corridor, as well as for arriving rail passengers heading to the airports or cruise terminals.

Getting from Grand Central to New York

Grand Central is in the centre of Midtown. Drive times to other Manhattan districts are short - 5–10 minutes to Times Square, 5 minutes to Bryant Park, 10–15 minutes to the Upper East Side or Penn Station, and 15–25 minutes to the Financial District depending on cross-town traffic.

For airport runs, drivers exit east toward the FDR or west to the Lincoln or Queens-Midtown Tunnel depending on destination. To LaGuardia, the route uses the Queens-Midtown Tunnel and the Grand Central Parkway. To Newark, the Lincoln Tunnel and the New Jersey Turnpike.

Platforms and pickup points

The terminal has 44 active platforms across two levels for Metro-North, and a deep-level concourse for LIRR Grand Central Madison. Pre-booked drivers wait at the Vanderbilt Avenue kerb on the west side of the terminal, between East 42nd and East 43rd Streets - this is the designated zone for private pickups, separate from the East 42nd Street taxi queues.

Common transfer routes from Grand Central

• Grand Central to JFK, LaGuardia, or Newark Liberty
• Grand Central to Times Square, Theatre District, or Bryant Park hotels
• Grand Central to Lower Manhattan and the Financial District
• Grand Central to Manhattan Cruise Terminal at Pier 88/90
• Grand Central to Brooklyn Cruise Terminal in Red Hook
• Grand Central to the Upper East Side and Upper West Side
• Grand Central to Westchester or Connecticut suburbs
• Grand Central to Penn Station for Amtrak connections

Booking your Grand Central transfer

Reservations confirm in real time. Payment options include Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Alipay, iDEAL, Wero, and PayPal. The fare is fixed at booking, with no surcharges for tolls or airport access. Free cancellation applies up to 24 hours before pickup.