Power Restored To Lower Level Of Grand Central Terminal Following Outage
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The lights are back on in the lower level of Grand Central Terminal after a burst pipe knocked out power.
Crews worked through the night to restore power to the lower level early Tuesday morning.
Metro-North said it expects normal service throughout the day using all platforms on both levels and said the terminal's retail stores have also reopened.
"It was fine, there was only some ice on the platform," commuter Christine Chiesa told CBS2's Janelle Burrell. "But other than that, there was no problems. No delays at all."
"I know they were working around the clock," another rider told 1010 WINS' Glenn Schuck. "I had confidence."
MTA officials said an offsite pipe, six inches in diameter, flooded a transformer around 9:30 a.m. Monday. The outage also darkened passageways of the terminal and forced restaurants, shops and bathrooms to close.
"Lights are out, ATMs, ticket machines, all that," passenger Daniel Bates said Monday.
"I've never seen a dark terminal except for the night of the blackout in 2003, so it's reminiscent of the blackout," said commuter John Karrel.
During the outage, train service continued on the upper level without any cancellations, according to the MTA. But for the more than 60 retailers, the outage meant a loss in business and spoiled food.
"It's going to be a good amount of product, especially for all the other businesses in the market too," said Zabar's Market employee Eric Musial.
Metro-North said Tuesday that ticket machines and departure boards are all operating normally. It also said crews wereable to restore full lighting to the entrance at 47th Street and Madison Avenue.