This is my station and my line. I connect to the New Canaan connection in Stamford. There are trains to New Haven that are express to Stamford that take less than an hour. In the last twenty years most of the stations have been upgraded to a fairly high standard. Stamford station has good parking, rental cars, taxi, and bus service; the way transportation ought to be.
That was a nice commuter train, especially since there were onboard restrooms. You wouldn't know from the view where the train tracks run, by Stamford is the center of the wealthiest group of communities in the U.S. including Greenwich and all of Fairfield County.
The main hall of GCT reminds me of Constitución station here in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Way less famous, but still a stunning piece of architecture, a symbol of our long gone glory days and the enormous British influence in our railway infrastructure. It was restored around a decade ago and it really looks amazing. The Retiro station (the one for Mitre railway, as we do have three different stations named Retiro, each one serving a different railway line and located within meters of each other) is also another century old amazing station. But i think Constitución takes the first prize (and it is also Argentina's busiest station).
We were in Buenos Aires, October 1995, beautiful city, a cross of New York City and Paris, very classy! Loved the sidewalk cafés, watching Tango dancing at the General Belgrado hotel, tres chic! The height of our B.A. experience was watching the movie "Apollo 13" at this really beautiful, old school cinema on the Plaza de 10 de Mayo; escorted to our seats by an usher in a black and gold uniform, gloved hands, holding a flashlight...what an experience! I would love to return again now that I've retired from the Navy.
Prior to 1991 all Amtrak services heading north from the city used Grand Central (Empire Service/Maple Leaf to Albany/Niagara Falls/Toronto, the Adirondack up to Montreal, the Lake Shore Limited to Chicago and service to Vermont as well). When they finally fixed the swing bridge over Spyten Duyvil Creek (old Dutch, literal translation is “Spite the Devil Creek” as for a long time you REALLY didn’t want to be in a boat here when the tides were changing) Amtrak moved all the trains to Penn Station so passengers wouldn’t need a shuttle bus.
Another interesting video Dylan. When I was there pre-pandemic, there was a tour offered of Grand Central. That was great. When I was there more recently however, I couldn’t see any sign that it was running sadly. Keep up the good work on the channel 👍👍
Amazing to see Grand Central that empty - it's close to pre-pandemic levels now and absolutely packed these days. Come back and take a ride up the Hudson line!
I've been there at Grand Central few times this year cause I took my mom to get eye surgery in the area. I'm always reminded of the Cloverfield monster and the people running away from it 😂
Oh yes, the Metro Line going up to New Haven. I've taken this train on numerous occasions, catching it a few miles up from Stamford in Norwalk. I was last in the NYC area in October,2020. I was really surprised by the lack of crowds, even during the week, and the trains were practically empty, at 7am, during the morning rush. Yes, I've always loved Grand Central Station, the height of civic architecture!
It's the reverse commute - trains going into the city are much more crowded at 8:35 am. He also got on a later train than most people would take if they lived in the city but worked in Westchester or Fairfield county.
I was berated by security for wanting to take a still photo of the platforms, but no such problem in the booking hall and other places. It's a fantastic building, downstairs there is a big food court with a wide varity of eating options ... with some of the highest prices anywhere. On my last visit I spoke with someone who works there, I asked why so expensive, the reply was that rents are high and they have to charge a king's ransom to cover prior to thinking about food costs and of course staff costs. Comments from others tells me this is a common theme in New York.
Until that office tower (originally PanAm) was built over the platforms, there was a proper shed with high ceilings. I commented through GCT for years going from Manhattan (where I lived) to Tarrytown on the Hudson line.
I have to agree- it’s one of the few redeeming features of GCT to my jaded eyes. Passing through here everyday, it quickly loses its luster otherwise. Actually- the train I am on is stopping at Stamford as I write this comment! Trippy.
A few things from someone who has used Metro North a little more: 1) If you're going from GCT to Stamford, you should usually avoid trains that have "Stamford" as the destination - these are local trains that make all local stops to Stamford and then terminate there. Instead look for trains going further beyond Stamford, they will usually have Stamford as the first stop and run express between Manhattan and Stamford. 2) The pronunciation of Mt. Vernon East is closer to like "Mount Vern-en" not "Mount Ver-non" 3) The New Haven Line uses the Harlem Line to get from Grand Central to the New York City limits, at which point it branches off to become its own line. The sequence (leaving NYC) is like this: - New Haven Line leaves the Harlem Line at Woodlawn Junction just beyond Woodlawn station on the Bronx-Westchester border. It continues using third rail through Pelham, the first/last station on the New Haven Line proper. - Before Mt. Vernon East, the changeover occurs between third rail and overhead wire (the changeover will already have happened by the time you get to the Mt. Vernon East platforms) - The line merges with Amtrak's North East Corridor at New Rochelle, which is the next station after Mt. Vernon. Bonus fact, the transition from third rail to overhead power once happened at Woodlawn Junction itself but as part of overhead wiring system upgrades around 1990, New York State decided to extend third rail onto the New Haven Line. The reason for this IIRC
Something about all those wealthy communities on the New Haven line: on two separate occasions I saw 8 1/2 month pregnant women forced to stand because none of those wealthy pricks were willing to give up their seat. Never saw that sort of thing on any other commuter line.
Fun fact: Amtrak trains to Upstate NY used to start in Grand Central Terminal until 1991, that’s when the West Side Line was used to send Amtrak’s Upstate NY services to Penn Station.
Great review as always! I used to ride this run regularly back in the 1990s! Of course, you could also have saved 20 minutes or so by choosing a New Haven bound train out of Grand Central; it runs nonstop from Harlem to Stamford.
Amazing! Don't you plan to visit Australia? Would be nice to see The Ghan and Indian-Pacific. Unfortunately, I didn't have an opportunity to ride on them when I was in AU. Sydney local trains are also cool, btw
The part of the Bronx I live in is near one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the world. Riverdale. I live in nearby Kingsbridge. Metro North has a Riverdale stop.
Did you have to do walk down stairs to the low levels at Grand Central station? Because I thought that the Stamford trains are local commuter trains and commuter trains depart from the low level
Fun facts about the ceiling in Grand Central: -the constellations are backwards.....whoops -there's one small dark rectangle showing how dirty the ceiling was before they cleaned it of decades of cigarette grime -there's a hole from where they had a rocket on display and had to cut a hole for it to fit also it's Vern-in not Ver-nahn....this isn't France, buddy!
If you are wondering there is a British equivalent to the M8 metro North it's Class 387/2 377/2 377/5 377/7 319 These should have toilets like the American M8. The toilets Are on odd number carriages like the M7 M3 LIRR Metro-north Harlem and Hudson Lines. If you were to go inside the Cab Positive Train control switches are right behind you. What you did here was go on Train simulator classic North East corridor New Haven New York route
@@jake13122 No, long before Covid; I visited several times between 2002 and 2010. Sometimes it was busier than others, depending on time of day, but even when busy it wasn’t noisy.
They're regional commuter trains: there is an underground section from Grand Central Terminal to 96th Street but the rest of the line/service is overground. You also usually have to consult a schedule before using it, so it's not "turn up and go" frequency like a metro, subway or other city service.
We miss the M2S/M4s M6S we did not see nothing wrong with the m2 M4s M6S M2s and those trains were holding up strong just like the R32S R62AS R62S. no rust or nothing on them at all.
I’m from new Rochelle. Used to take the train into Grand central every week before the city got really out of control. Thank you for capturing this. Consider checking out the Harlem and Hudson lines
Grand Central is not conveniently located in terms of railway lines, so intercity trains can’t run here. I want to point out that in terms of development, it is in the best place
Dylan- you should have taken the train all the way to New Haven. No, it wouldn’t have changed your opinions about the M8s or Metro North, or wowed you with particularly scenic views, but you could have tried what NH is famous for: pizza. New York City has some great pies but Wooster Street in New Haven is the original home of Sal’s and Pepe’s, together with nearby Modern, are fantastic old school pizzerias that often vie for being the best in the country. As this is a travel video and not a food video, I’ll stop now but it was definitely a missed opportunity if you were up into Connecticut!! Loved the video as usual; even though I have taken MNR thousands of times to Grand Central (I’m on a M8 now!), it’s always fun to see an outsider’s perspective. It is true that you are far more knowledgeable than most non-commuters (and commuters too, for that matter), it’s still interesting to hear.
I was somewhat disappointed with the entry to Grand Central Station. I noticed a couple of ladies hurrying to enter, with luggage and personal effects, who had difficulty wrestling with the heavy wooden framed doors. the doors had to be manually opened. Once inside, they had to walk ten to fifteen metres and go through the same process with a second barrier of heavy wooden, manually operated doors. For the second busiest station in New York City, and the second busiest station in the USA, I thought this an unfriendly and laborious welcome indeed.
I don't approve that they don't have any windows at the wheelchair space. Like there's people like me who enjoys looking out the window at the scenery going by so what gives? I'm pretty sure even The South Shore Line is guilty of the same thing. We can't help being stuck in a wheelchair so why punish us for something that was not in our control.
First, it is only an hour trip and two, while we do go through some really beautiful territory, the view from the train ranges from pedestrian to really shabby. While the absence of a window my seem punishing, I promise you that in this case it is protective.
$23 return? Off peak? $30? Peak? That's NOT reasonable for a 52 km commutter service. Honestly Dylan you need to get out more. In AUD$ that's like $28 off peak. I can travel metro Melbourne on a suburban commuter service 65km out for around $12. Return. And no booking ahead...and no peak or off peak. That's gouging. I know Britain is expensive I wasn't expecting that for the USA.
We're talking about NYC pricing. Pretty much everything is twice as expensive as even nearby locations. Manhattan is, after all, a very crowded island.
When I went to Grand Central I was left disappointed with what an ugly station it is, considering its reputation. The front is a very attractive shopping mall, but the parts where the trains leave from are like neglected London underground stations with next to no lighting, low roofs, lots of dirt (typical of the city in general) & no thought to aesthetics whatsoever. Compare it to somewhere like Paddington or St. Pancras where the trains depart from a cathedral by comparison & Grand Central seems like a dingy tunnel in need of demolition
Sheesh man, I mean the train section isnt the best in the world and additionally its underground. Most people dont even care about the section with the trains, they just ride them. UK people always find something concerning about railroads in the US and make it a problem man
This is my station and my line. I connect to the New Canaan connection in Stamford. There are trains to New Haven that are express to Stamford that take less than an hour. In the last twenty years most of the stations have been upgraded to a fairly high standard. Stamford station has good parking, rental cars, taxi, and bus service; the way transportation ought to be.
That was a nice commuter train, especially since there were onboard restrooms. You wouldn't know from the view where the train tracks run, by Stamford is the center of the wealthiest group of communities in the U.S. including Greenwich and all of Fairfield County.
The vaults underneath the main concourse are also quite beautiful. I used to live in Stamford, so this was my daily commute.
The main hall of GCT reminds me of Constitución station here in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Way less famous, but still a stunning piece of architecture, a symbol of our long gone glory days and the enormous British influence in our railway infrastructure. It was restored around a decade ago and it really looks amazing.
The Retiro station (the one for Mitre railway, as we do have three different stations named Retiro, each one serving a different railway line and located within meters of each other) is also another century old amazing station. But i think Constitución takes the first prize (and it is also Argentina's busiest station).
We were in Buenos Aires, October 1995, beautiful city, a cross of New York City and Paris, very classy! Loved the sidewalk cafés, watching Tango dancing at the General Belgrado hotel, tres chic! The height of our B.A. experience was watching the movie "Apollo 13" at this really beautiful, old school cinema on the Plaza de 10 de Mayo; escorted to our seats by an usher in a black and gold uniform, gloved hands, holding a flashlight...what an experience! I would love to return again now that I've retired from the Navy.
Damn, these videos make me like Fridays even more.
Thank you for correctly calling it Grand Central Terminal. Drives me nuts when people call it Grand Central Station.
The contrast between the main hall, and then those platforms!
I was in Grand Central a few weeks ago. A truly amazing station
Great trip report
That's awesome that you took a trip into my home state.
Only travelled by train once stateside - from grand central to south Norwalk in Connecticut
Prior to 1991 all Amtrak services heading north from the city used Grand Central (Empire Service/Maple Leaf to Albany/Niagara Falls/Toronto, the Adirondack up to Montreal, the Lake Shore Limited to Chicago and service to Vermont as well). When they finally fixed the swing bridge over Spyten Duyvil Creek (old Dutch, literal translation is “Spite the Devil Creek” as for a long time you REALLY didn’t want to be in a boat here when the tides were changing) Amtrak moved all the trains to Penn Station so passengers wouldn’t need a shuttle bus.
Another interesting video Dylan. When I was there pre-pandemic, there was a tour offered of Grand Central. That was great. When I was there more recently however, I couldn’t see any sign that it was running sadly. Keep up the good work on the channel 👍👍
Amazing to see Grand Central that empty - it's close to pre-pandemic levels now and absolutely packed these days. Come back and take a ride up the Hudson line!
8:45 that would be one hell of a fast train to get to Greenwich, London 😛 maybe a hyperloop
I've been there at Grand Central few times this year cause I took my mom to get eye surgery in the area. I'm always reminded of the Cloverfield monster and the people running away from it 😂
Oh yes, the Metro Line going up to New Haven. I've taken this train on numerous occasions, catching it a few miles up from Stamford in Norwalk. I was last in the NYC area in October,2020. I was really surprised by the lack of crowds, even during the week, and the trains were practically empty, at 7am, during the morning rush. Yes, I've always loved Grand Central Station, the height of civic architecture!
It's the reverse commute - trains going into the city are much more crowded at 8:35 am. He also got on a later train than most people would take if they lived in the city but worked in Westchester or Fairfield county.
Nice to see you on my line. The rest of the line up to New Haven is just so slow…
Next video try to film Harrison station.
Thank you so much ❤❤
I was berated by security for wanting to take a still photo of the platforms, but no such problem in the booking hall and other places. It's a fantastic building, downstairs there is a big food court with a wide varity of eating options ... with some of the highest prices anywhere. On my last visit I spoke with someone who works there, I asked why so expensive, the reply was that rents are high and they have to charge a king's ransom to cover prior to thinking about food costs and of course staff costs. Comments from others tells me this is a common theme in New York.
I used to work near Grand Central Station.
Good job!
Excellent vid 😍
Until that office tower (originally PanAm) was built over the platforms, there was a proper shed with high ceilings. I commented through GCT for years going from Manhattan (where I lived) to Tarrytown on the Hudson line.
You could have shown the ceiling in the main concourse. That is what visitors come to see.
Yes definitely missed the glorious ceiling, also the enormous food hall down below.
I have to agree- it’s one of the few redeeming features of GCT to my jaded eyes. Passing through here everyday, it quickly loses its luster otherwise.
Actually- the train I am on is stopping at Stamford as I write this comment! Trippy.
A few things from someone who has used Metro North a little more:
1) If you're going from GCT to Stamford, you should usually avoid trains that have "Stamford" as the destination - these are local trains that make all local stops to Stamford and then terminate there. Instead look for trains going further beyond Stamford, they will usually have Stamford as the first stop and run express between Manhattan and Stamford.
2) The pronunciation of Mt. Vernon East is closer to like "Mount Vern-en" not "Mount Ver-non"
3) The New Haven Line uses the Harlem Line to get from Grand Central to the New York City limits, at which point it branches off to become its own line. The sequence (leaving NYC) is like this:
- New Haven Line leaves the Harlem Line at Woodlawn Junction just beyond Woodlawn station on the Bronx-Westchester border. It continues using third rail through Pelham, the first/last station on the New Haven Line proper.
- Before Mt. Vernon East, the changeover occurs between third rail and overhead wire (the changeover will already have happened by the time you get to the Mt. Vernon East platforms)
- The line merges with Amtrak's North East Corridor at New Rochelle, which is the next station after Mt. Vernon.
Bonus fact, the transition from third rail to overhead power once happened at Woodlawn Junction itself but as part of overhead wiring system upgrades around 1990, New York State decided to extend third rail onto the New Haven Line. The reason for this IIRC
Something about all those wealthy communities on the New Haven line: on two separate occasions I saw 8 1/2 month pregnant women forced to stand because none of those wealthy pricks were willing to give up their seat. Never saw that sort of thing on any other commuter line.
Fun fact: Amtrak trains to Upstate NY used to start in Grand Central Terminal until 1991, that’s when the West Side Line was used to send Amtrak’s Upstate NY services to Penn Station.
Not just upstate NY. In 1981 I took the Lakeshore Limited to Chicago from GCT
You should have taken Metro-North's Hudson's Line that goes up the eastern bank of the Hudson River. It is a much more scenic route.
'Quite nice leather-style seats' - talk about damning with faint praise!
Great review as always! I used to ride this run regularly back in the 1990s! Of course, you could also have saved 20 minutes or so by choosing a New Haven bound train out of Grand Central; it runs nonstop from Harlem to Stamford.
When I visited Grand Central Station a few years ago I was disappointed by the platform area. Such grand building and a smelly, hot platform.
thank you
Boa tarde Dylans lindo metrô 🚇 morth railroad and the stunning grand central terminal bom 👍
0:50 What’s the context?
Amazing! Don't you plan to visit Australia? Would be nice to see The Ghan and Indian-Pacific. Unfortunately, I didn't have an opportunity to ride on them when I was in AU. Sydney local trains are also cool, btw
The part of the Bronx I live in is near one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the world. Riverdale. I live in nearby Kingsbridge. Metro North has a Riverdale stop.
Give me St Pancras any day over this
Did you have to do walk down stairs to the low levels at Grand Central station? Because I thought that the Stamford trains are local commuter trains and commuter trains depart from the low level
overhead wires?
Great video
Fun facts about the ceiling in Grand Central:
-the constellations are backwards.....whoops
-there's one small dark rectangle showing how dirty the ceiling was before they cleaned it of decades of cigarette grime
-there's a hole from where they had a rocket on display and had to cut a hole for it to fit
also it's Vern-in not Ver-nahn....this isn't France, buddy!
Heh -- those of us who grew up in the DC area insist on "VER-none" -- as in George Washington's palatial estate.
You'd think that they'd get some automatic doors!
If you are wondering there is a British equivalent to the M8 metro North it's Class 387/2 377/2 377/5 377/7 319 These should have toilets like the American M8. The toilets Are on odd number carriages like the M7 M3 LIRR Metro-north Harlem and Hudson Lines. If you were to go inside the Cab Positive Train control switches are right behind you. What you did here was go on Train simulator classic North East corridor New Haven New York route
Why do the power sockets look so shocked?!
dylan you are amazing
What struck me when I was there was how quiet it was. More like a library than a railway station.
That's because of covid - it's back to being absolutely packed.
@@jake13122
No, long before Covid; I visited several times between 2002 and 2010. Sometimes it was busier than others, depending on time of day, but even when busy it wasn’t noisy.
The concourse at Grand Central: Amazing
The Platforms/tracks: Comparable to London Euston.
These trains do have that desiccative look. Are they metro trains that goes underground and above ground.
They're regional commuter trains: there is an underground section from Grand Central Terminal to 96th Street but the rest of the line/service is overground. You also usually have to consult a schedule before using it, so it's not "turn up and go" frequency like a metro, subway or other city service.
Great trip. Sadly this marvelous station only serve commuter train currently.
This is because it’s not conveniently located on the railway lines
Peace be upon you brother with love ❤️🇵🇰❤️
Metro north railroad M8 actually has a 120 mph rarely used
We miss the M2S/M4s M6S we did not see nothing wrong with the m2 M4s M6S M2s and those trains were holding up strong just like the R32S R62AS R62S. no rust or nothing on them at all.
excellent😅
I will say this much: the seats on Metro North are more comfortable than the seats in standard class on an IET.
I’m from new Rochelle. Used to take the train into Grand central every week before the city got really out of control. Thank you for capturing this. Consider checking out the Harlem and Hudson lines
👍👍👍👍
Grand Central is not conveniently located in terms of railway lines, so intercity trains can’t run here. I want to point out that in terms of development, it is in the best place
Trains Station 🚉
Dylan- you should have taken the train all the way to New Haven. No, it wouldn’t have changed your opinions about the M8s or Metro North, or wowed you with particularly scenic views, but you could have tried what NH is famous for: pizza.
New York City has some great pies but Wooster Street in New Haven is the original home of Sal’s and Pepe’s, together with nearby Modern, are fantastic old school pizzerias that often vie for being the best in the country. As this is a travel video and not a food video, I’ll stop now but it was definitely a missed opportunity if you were up into Connecticut!!
Loved the video as usual; even though I have taken MNR thousands of times to Grand Central (I’m on a M8 now!), it’s always fun to see an outsider’s perspective. It is true that you are far more knowledgeable than most non-commuters (and commuters too, for that matter), it’s still interesting to hear.
2:05 Ahhh, Dylan's girlfriend.
8:45 pronounced as "green witch" for Americans
9:46 Wonder if you went to Stamford for Maury then.
Great video though.
We Americans pronounce it exactly as Dylan did.
I was somewhat disappointed with the entry to Grand Central Station. I noticed a couple of ladies hurrying to enter, with luggage and personal
effects, who had difficulty wrestling with the heavy wooden framed doors. the doors had to be manually opened. Once inside, they had to walk
ten to fifteen metres and go through the same process with a second barrier of heavy wooden, manually operated doors. For the second busiest
station in New York City, and the second busiest station in the USA, I thought this an unfriendly and laborious welcome indeed.
I don't approve that they don't have any windows at the wheelchair space. Like there's people like me who enjoys looking out the window at the scenery going by so what gives? I'm pretty sure even The South Shore Line is guilty of the same thing. We can't help being stuck in a wheelchair so why punish us for something that was not in our control.
First, it is only an hour trip and two, while we do go through some really beautiful territory, the view from the train ranges from pedestrian to really shabby. While the absence of a window my seem punishing, I promise you that in this case it is protective.
yay a loo review 🤣
It’s too bad that Grand Central has been relegated to commuter trains only.
That’s because it’s not conveniently located on the railway lines
I do like Grand Central, but for me it is nowhere near as impressive as the railway cathedral known as St. Pancras.
🤭 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙢
North Americans call Commuter trains "local" and intercity trains that run fast are called "express"
No, at least not in/around New York. Express trains skip stations, often on a dedicated track. Local trains stop at every station on the line
@@gchimmel that's what I said. Local and commuter are the same because commuters stop at every station also
$23 return? Off peak? $30? Peak? That's NOT reasonable for a 52 km commutter service. Honestly Dylan you need to get out more. In AUD$ that's like $28 off peak. I can travel metro Melbourne on a suburban commuter service 65km out for around $12. Return. And no booking ahead...and no peak or off peak. That's gouging. I know Britain is expensive I wasn't expecting that for the USA.
We're talking about NYC pricing. Pretty much everything is twice as expensive as even nearby locations. Manhattan is, after all, a very crowded island.
When I went to Grand Central I was left disappointed with what an ugly station it is, considering its reputation. The front is a very attractive shopping mall, but the parts where the trains leave from are like neglected London underground stations with next to no lighting, low roofs, lots of dirt (typical of the city in general) & no thought to aesthetics whatsoever. Compare it to somewhere like Paddington or St. Pancras where the trains depart from a cathedral by comparison & Grand Central seems like a dingy tunnel in need of demolition
Sheesh man, I mean the train section isnt the best in the world and additionally its underground. Most people dont even care about the section with the trains, they just ride them. UK people always find something concerning about railroads in the US and make it a problem man
GCT was financed by selling air rights above the tracks. Hence the low ceilings and tunnels. Something TfL also does.