On Sunday night, New Jersey Transit announced an agreement with the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen to end the commuter carrier’s first statewide transit strike in more than 40 years. Train service is suspended through Monday while the railroad is inspected and equipment is moved into position in time for Tuesday’s rush hour. NJT has a contingency plan involving charter buses and cross-honoring tickets on other carriers to get everyone to work on Monday. New Jersey Gov. Phillip D. Murphy did not reveal the detailed of the agreement during his press conference Sunday night.
New Jersey Transit engineers represented by the BLET went on strike at midnight on May 15, bringing commuter rail service in the Garden State to a halt on Friday morning. It was the first statewide transit strike in New Jersey in nearly 40 years. At issue was pay: NJT engineers make about $10 less per hour than those at other New York area commuter operations. The union voted down a preliminary offer in March. NJT Chief Executive Kris Kolluri told the New York Times that offer would have raised pay to $172,000 from $135,000 annually. But union officials said those numbers had been inflated. NJT officials walked out of negotiations on Thursday, which triggered the walkout by union employees.
About 100,000 people take NJT trains daily. Assuming operations from Conrail in 1983, it is the third-busiest commuter railroad in the country.
—This story was updated on May 19, 2025, with additional information.