Those hoping to use the Grand Central Madison Station will have to wait a little longer.

The Long Island Rail Road announced the delay on Twitter Thursday, saying in part, "In our final system testing we've identified some additional work that will take more than a few days to complete."

Gerry Bringmann, chairman of the LIRR Commuter Council, says the issue is a ventilation fan, which was identified at an MTA board meeting.

He says it is worth waiting a little longer to keep people safe.

"The MTA is going to take a public relations hit on this - but it's safety," Bringmann said.

The announcement means that the East Side Access Project will also be delayed.

The MTA recently announced that a new LIRR shuttle service for commuters will provide a temporary solution while they are finalizing the project. That plan was also scrapped until next year.

Leo Pozzulo, who commutes from Mount Sinai to the east side of Manhattan, was hoping the station would be completed sooner. His office is a block away from Grand Central Terminal, and he says when the new station is done, it will take about an hour off his commute.

"I'm looking at a 12-hour day, 13-hour day just to go to work and saving that hour would make a big difference," Pozzulo says.

Grand Central Madison is years behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget.

In October 2021, Gov. Kathy Hochul rode the first train into the new station announcing it would open to the public in 2022.

The railroad says it hopes to open the new terminal as soon as possible in January.