Grand Central Terminal in New York City faced a power failure Thursday night, leaving MTA workers trapped in an elevator and prompting reports of panic among commuters. The outage occurred after rush hour and lasted approximately 30 minutes, according to MTA Communications Director Tim Minton.

The blackout was caused by a voltage drop in the feeder network, which resulted in darkness across parts of the terminal from 8:28 p.m. to 9:17 p.m., Minton stated. Power was restored to the upper level at 8:53 p.m. and the lower level at 9:17 p.m. No injuries were reported during the incident.

Five Metro North railroad employees became stuck in an elevator mid-ride when the lights went out, requiring assistance from the FDNY and MTA personnel. Witnesses described a moment of chaos as the 33,000-square-foot terminal plunged into darkness.

Photos and videos shared online around 8:30 p.m. showed commuters navigating the pitch-black main hall. Yvonne Ubillus, an employee at Grand Brasserie inside the terminal, said the outage caught staff and customers off guard. “We were in the middle of service when the lights went out,” she recounted. “Some people got scared, so they started leaving the station.”

Power was restored by 9 p.m., though not all systems were fully operational. Ubillus noted that gas lines remained nonfunctional. Commuter Shola Adekola described the experience as unsettling. “It was extremely dark. You could hardly see anything,” he said. “It was scary, but people used their phones to navigate.”

MTA officials confirmed no train services were disrupted during the incident.