NJ Transit train lines suspended after rail engineers go on strike

NJ Transit train lines are suspended after engineers walked off the job Friday after having failed to reach a deal on a wage increase.

It’s the first transit strike in New Jersey in 42 years, and will disrupt upward of 350,000 commuters across New Jersey and New York.

» READ MORE: NJ Transit rail engineer strike starting Friday. Here is what you need to know.

Both NJ Transit officials and Gov. Phil Murphy are encouraging people who normally take trains to work from home, if possible. NJ Transit also has a contingency plan in place for a limited segment of commuters traveling into New York City.

“We’re prepared for the worst,” Murphy told reporters late Thursday night.

The impact in the Philadelphia area is expected to be minimal, since NJ Transit’s bus routes aren’t affected by the strike. But the strike means the Atlantic City Rail Line won’t be operating. PATCO service is not impacted, as its employees are represented by different unions.

Also not impacted by the strike are NJ Transit’s light rail trains and Access Link, the agency’s paratransit service. In addition, Amtrak trains will continue to run, as will PATH trains in northern New Jersey.

The strike comes after members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen couldn’t come to an agreement with NJ Transit management over wage increases the union says are necessary.

“NJ Transit could have avoided this strike, but they blew it,” Teamsters general president Sean M. O’Brien said in a statement. “Rail Teamsters are the best in the business and deserve better than to be lowballed and disrespected.”

In a Friday news conference, Murphy said that along with keeping commuters traveling amid the strike, the priority moving forward is “reaching a fair and affordable deal as soon as humanly possible.” The deal, he added, needs to give employees the wages and benefits they deserve, but also not cause a rise in cost for riders.

“NJ Transit’s employees are the backbone of our public transit system,” Murphy said. “But the workers who depend on NJ Transit are the backbone of our entire economy. They deserve a public transit system that is reliable and affordable, period.”

Mark Wallace, the union’s national president, walked the picket line outside New York City’s Penn Station, and he said the engineers were committed to staying on strike until they get a fair deal. Union members were nearly unanimous in authorizing a strike last summer, and 87% of them rejected the latest agreement.

Wallace said NJ Transit needs to pay engineers a wage that’s comparable to Amtrak and Long Island Rail Road because engineers are leaving for jobs on those other railroads for better pay.

The next talks are scheduled for Sunday with the help of federal mediators. The parties met Monday with a federal mediation board in Washington, and a mediator was present during Thursday’s talks.

This article includes information from the Associated Press.