as scheduled on that date, with the first train leaving Jamaica at 10:45 a.m. The initial "Grand Central Direct" service only runs between Jamaica and Grand Central Madison, with trains alternatively skipping or serving all intermediate stops. On February 8, 2023, the MTA announced that it would implement full service on February 27, with 296 daily trains operating to or from Grand Central Madison. Route Extending between Sunnyside Yard in Queens and Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan, the East Side Access project created an LIRR branch from its Main Line through new track connections at Harold Interlocking within Sunnyside Yard, and through the lower level of the existing 63rd Street Tunnel under the East River. A storage yard adjacent to Sunnyside Yard is also being built, connecting to the 63rd Street Tunnel via a loop. In Manhattan new tunnels begin at the western end of the 63rd Street Tunnel at Second Avenue, curving south under Park Avenue and entering a new LIRR terminal beneath Grand Central. Excluding storage tunnels, the project is about long, consisting of of new route in Queens, of preexisting route under the 63rd Street Tunnel, and of new route in Manhattan. On the Queens side, four tunnels merge into two tracks and enter the lower level of the 63rd Street Tunnel. Three of them (Tunnels A, B/C, and D) connect to the busy Harold Interlocking, splitting off the Main Line. A fourth tunnel on a lower level connects to the Midday Storage Yard. The Midday Storage Yard, located to the northwest of the existing Sunnyside Yard, comprises and will contain 24 storage tracks once completed. Tutor Perini is constructing the $291 million yard just south of the existing Harold Interlocking. The line fans out into a bi-level station under Grand Central Terminal with eight tracks, four on each level. South of the station, the four tracks on each level merge into two storage tracks, with one in each cavern on each level. These storage tracks, which extend under Park Avenue south to 38th Street, are long enough to store one , 12-car train. The storage tracks were not part of the original proposal, as they were added in a 2008 modification to the plans for East Side Access. The project also included the construction of several ventilation plants. One is located at 44th Street, near the Yale Club of New York City, while another is located