Grand Central Terminal

Grand Central Terminal (often still called Grand Central Station, although technically that is the name of the nearby post office) is a train station in midtown Manhattan, New York, a borough of New York City, located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue. Presently it serves commuters commuting on the Metro North Railroad to Westchester, Putnam, and Dutchess counties in New York, and Fairfield and New Haven counties in Connecticut. It is also a major station on the New York Subway, serving the 4, 5, 6, and 7 trains along with the 42nd Street Shuttle.

It is the largest train station in the world by number of platforms: 44, with 67 tracks along them. They are situated on two underground levels with 41 tracks on the upper level and 26 on the lower.

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Layout

Besides train platforms, Grand Central contains restaurants (the most famous of which is the Oyster Bar), fast food outlets, delis, newsstands, a food market, and over forty retail stores.

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Main Concourse

The Main Concourse is the center of Grand Central. The space is cavernous and usually filled with bustling crowds. The ticket booths are here, although many now stand unused or repurposed since the introduction of ticket vending machines.

The main information booth is in the center of the Concourse. This is a perennial meeting place, and the four-faced clock on top of the information booth is perhaps the most recognizable icon of Grand Central Terminal.

The upper level tracks are reached from the Grand Concourse or from various hallways and passages branching off from it.

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Dining Concourse

The Dining Concourse is below the Main Concourse. They are connected by numerous stairs, ramps, and escalators.

The Dining Concourse is the home to most of the fast food operations of Grand Central.

The lower level tracks are all accessed from the Dining Concourse.

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Vanderbilt Hall

Vanderbilt Hall is located just off the Main Concourse. It is used and rented out for various events.

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Subway Station

The subway platforms at Grand Central are reached from the Main Concourse. The subway areas of the station lack the majesty that is present throughout most of the rest of Grand Central. The Grand Central shuttle platforms were originally the Grand Central express stop on the original IRT line, opened in 1904. Once the east side IRT was extended uptown in 1918, the original tracks were converted to shuttle use. Only the #1 track is still connected to the main line on the east side. A fire in the 1960s destroyed much of the station, which has been rebuilt. The only sign of the fire damage is truncated steel beams visible above the platforms.

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Grand Central North

Grand Central North is a relatively recent addition that provides access to Grand Central from 47th and 48th streets. It is connected to the Main Concourse through two long hallways, known as the Northwest and Northeast passages, which run parallel to the tracks.

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History

Three buildings serving essentially the same function have stood on this site.

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Grand Central Depot

Grand Central Depot, completed in 1871, was designed to bring the trains of the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad, the Harlem River Railroad, and the New Haven Railroad together in one large station. The headhouse building containing passenger service areas and railroad offices was an "L" shape with a short leg running east-west on 42nd Street and a long leg running north-south on Vanderbilt Avenue. The train shed, north and east of the headhouse, had two innovations in U.S. practice: the platforms were elevated to the height of the cars and the roof was a balloon shed with a clear span over all of the tracks.

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Grand Central Station

Between 1899 and 1900, the headhouse was essentially demolished (it was expanded from 3 to 6 stories and an entirely new facade put on it) but the train shed was kept. The tracks that had previous continued south of 42nd Street were removed and the train yard reconfigured in an effort to reduce congestion and turn-around time for trains. The reconstructed building was renamed Grand Central Station.

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