In February 1968, the NYCTA's parent company, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, released the Program for Action, which proposed numerous improvements to subway, railway, and airport service in the New York metropolitan area. The plan included a new LIRR terminal at a proposed Metropolitan Transportation Center at Third Avenue and 48th Street in East Midtown. It also included connections to Grand Central Terminal, with a new northern entrance leading to the center, and the Second Avenue Subway, among other transit services. The new LIRR line was to branch off from existing lines in Sunnyside, Queens and enter Manhattan using the new two-level 63rd Street Tunnel. The upper level was to be used by the New York City Subway's 63rd Street lines and the lower level was to be used by the LIRR. According to renderings of the transportation center, the mezzanine would be placed above four island platforms and eight tracks, which would be split evenly across two levels, similar to the structure under construction at Grand Central.