MTA Considering Geothermal Technology to Cool Subway Stations
According to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) “Climate Resilience Roadmap” released in April 2024, the number of heat waves are projected to more than triple by the 2050s.In response, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) issued a request for information (RFI) as part of an investigation into cooling technologies to reduce the heat in New York City’s subway stations that can reach over 100-degrees in the summer. One of the options the MTA is currently looking into is the possible use of “geothermal cooling technologies for the passenger occupied zones of subway platforms in deep stations.” Two of the deepest stations in are 1-train stations at 168th Street and 181st Street in Upper Manhattan. “Geothermal technology relies on a pump system to tap into the earth in order to cool and heat structures on warmer and cooler days respectively. Eric Wilson, Senior Vice President of MTA’s Construction & Development reportedly pointed out that weather conditions were different in the early 20th Century when the subway stations were built, requiring the MTA to figure out what tools are available to retrofit stations in order to mitigate against heat and flooding risks. At a time when heat in the stations was generated largely by braking trains, the cooling system was “designed to circulate air through passive ‘piston effect’ ventilation that relies on moving subway cars to expel hot air and bring in cool air.” However today, “communications and electronics equipment, air conditioning on trains onto platforms, as well as A/C units that keep equipment cool” have created additional heat-generating factors. Among the 472 subway stations, the seven newer ones, such as those on the Second Avenue Subway Q-line use “air-tempering systems” and designed with “above-ground ancillary cooling towers;” while a few others have platform fans that circulate air. While the city’s subway system is not the only one facing real and growing heat challenges, Wilson reportedly pointed out that “it’s believed to be the first older system to explore if stations can be equipped with conventional geothermal technology,” but the MTA is taking proactive steps and devoted real resources to taking climate change seriously.
Source: https://www.thecity.nyc/2025/09/25/mta-climate-resilience-heat-cooling-geothermal/