Upgrading the Underbelly of Grand Central Station

By LORENA RAMIREZ

Grand Central Terminal is going green.

As part of Earth Week, officials on Tuesday led an exclusive tour of the bowels of Grand Central Terminal showcasing the installations and upgrades of a $25 million project that was expected to reduce the terminal’s energy costs and usage.

Reporters and photographers were led onto the platform and loaded into an enormous elevator that comfortably transported them from the platform-level to the level below.

Upon stepping off the elevator, photographers quickly dispersed to snap photos of this usually restricted operation room.

They were able to see a 97-year-old absorption unit that was upgraded to run on a stream turbine, and a newly installed chiller unit with an iPad-like control panel.

In addition to upgrades and installations, New York Power Authority President Gil Quiniones said that there was a trial run for LED lighting on the platforms to see which was most cost-effective.

When the MTA finally  decides on specific LED lighting, it will also be installed on all platforms and tunnels.

The project, which started in 2012, includes energy-saving measures such as the installation of cooling towers, temperature controls and compressed air and steam distribution systems, air handling upgrades, and new chillers to enhance the terminal’s original cooling system.

This is the MTA’s  largest energy efficiency project in history and was expected to save $2.5 million in annual energy costs.

MTA Chairman Thomas F. Prendergast said that the project would “reap benefits for this terminal for decades to come.”