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Power restored after blackout at Grand Central Terminal
By
Charles Lane
and
Phil Corso
Published Sep 25, 2025
Modified Sep 25, 2025
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Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images
By
Charles Lane
and
Phil Corso
Published Sep 25, 2025
Modified Sep 25, 2025
Share
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Grand Central Terminal experienced a partial blackout Thursday night after rush hour, officials said, but power was restored roughly 30 minutes after the outage began.
According to the MTA, the outage began in portions of the facility at 8:28 p.m. due to a voltage drop to the terminal’s feeder network. Emergency officials responded before power was restored to the upper level by 8:53 p.m. and to the lower level by 9:17 p.m., according to MTA Communications Director Tim Minton.
"We are working with Con Edison to investigate the cause of the outage," Minton said.
Minton said five Metro-North employees were briefly stuck in stalled elevators until emergency generators kicked in and doors were opened.
No injuries were reported.
Officials also said there was no effect on subway, Metro-North or LIRR service. Transit continued to operate normally.
Photos and videos posted online around 8:30 p.m. showed commuters walking through a pitch black main hall.
Yvonne Ubillus, who works at Grand Brasserie inside the terminal, said the outage caught staff and customers by surprise.
“We were in the middle of service and then the lights just went off,” she said. “Some people got scared, so people started walking out of the station."
She said power was restored around 9 p.m., roughly 30 minutes later, but not all systems were back online.
"We still don't have a gas line working,” she said.
Commuter Shola Adekola, who was traveling from the Bronx to Manhattan, said the darkness was unsettling.
“It was pretty dark. You could hardly see anything,” he said. “It was scary, but fortunately, people took out their phones and turned the camera on.”
Tagged
manhattan
public safety
Charles Lane
Charles is a Day-of reporter focused on breaking news and enterprise. He’s very friendly and can be reached at [email protected], or more securely on whatsapp/signal 631-295-6715
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Phil Corso
Phil Corso is the evening news editor at WNYC/Gothamist. Got a tip? Email [email protected].
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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