Years ago I had a short stint riding the Long Island RR to Grand Central in Manhattan. These days a monthly pass on the LIRR say from Ronkonkoma is about $350. Not exactly chump change compared to 2-3 decades ago although it sure beats highway traffic and NYC parking.
The LIRR goes to Penn Station, not Grand Central. Unless you’re talking about riding the subway the rest of the way.
There was no electric train service to Ronkonkoma until 1987, too; before that, the electric service ended in Hicksville. Current monthly pass fare to Zone 10 is $377.
You must mean LIRR to Penn Station, unless you also hopped the subway from there to Grand Central. But yes, it’s expensive. It costs $33 a round trip from Westport, CT to Grand Central and I don’t save a whole lot with the monthly pass as I only go in about three days a week. They know it’s mostly business people taking those trains so they take advantage.
I’m thinking private ownership and operation will drive those prices down a bit.