JFK to Grand Central

is the LIRR now working out of Grand Central? Their home was always Penn Station when I used them. I always think of Grand Central as n/s and Penn as e/w. (Long Island centric view)

This is a new extension , just opened , of the LIRR between Grand Central and Jamaica which is the connection to the Airtrain direct to the terminals . Its about time !

so do the old trains from Penn to Jamaica not connect?

They still connect from Penn , the Grand Central to Jamaica is an addition to the existing service . This map explains the connections best - https://new.mta.info/map/5361

LIRR trains between Jamaica and Penn station never connected at grand central. Not at least since I can remember. The only ways to get between them was by way of foot, bus, taxi or a combination of subway rides.

I do hope they update the fare gates at the Jamaica Airtrain station. The last I heard you had to pay by metrocard. It forces many travelers to stop and use the ticket machines. Long lines can form as travelers try to use the unfamiliar machines to get a card. To me this was one of the first places that contactless pay by credit card and phone should have been tried. So much easier to just tap and go. I think much if not all the NYC subway and buses now offer contactless payment. Hope it’s not years and years and billions before that upgrade comes to fruition 😗

" LIRR trains between Jamaica and Penn station never connected at grand central. " Quite true , until now !!

To be clear (at the risk of being pedantic), the new tunnels don't link Grand Central with Penn Station. Rather, when coming from Long Island you'll be able to choose one or the other.

I do hope they update the fare gates at the Jamaica Airtrain station.
Scheduled for some time in 2024. Ah, the Port Authority...

As Scudder says . there is no link between Penn and Grand Central Coming in from Jamaica toward Manhattan , the switch one will make coming from Queens to Manhattan will be Woodside ( Jackson Heights , 74st Roosevelt , but direct shuttle from Jamaica Air Train ) . In the next few years a new 2.8 billion dollar project will create a transfer point in The Bronx enabling all metro north trains to access both Penn and Grand Central . ( without creating new tunneling to connect the two stations in Manhattan ) The new Grand Central Madison station , for the sake of undertanding the depth ( no pun intended ) of the project , is 17 stories below street level . From the new tracks , you can get to the street and Grand Central proper in about 8 minutes / More to come , stay tuned .