NJ Transit train engineers strike: Commuter alternatives, travel options

NEW JERSEY - New Jersey Transit train engineers went on strike Friday, impacting hundreds of thousands of commuters.

NEW JERSEY TRANSIT STRIKE UPDATE: BUSES l METRO-NORTH l WHAT'S NEXT

The walkout comes after the latest round of negotiations on Thursday didn’t produce an agreement. Picket lines began at 4 a.m.

NJ Transit engineer salary

What we know:

The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) engineers have been negotiating since 2019 on and off, and so far, no new contract has been reached. 

The union claims its members earn an average salary of $113,000 a year and says an agreement could be reached if agency CEO Kris Kolluri agrees to an average yearly salary of $170,000.

NJ Transit leadership, though, disputes the union's data, saying the engineers have average total earnings of $135,000 annually, with the highest earners exceeding $200,000.

In a statement, the union said: "NJ Transit has a half-billion dollars for a swanky new headquarters and $53 million for decorating the interior of that unnecessary building. They gave away $20 million in revenue during a fair holiday last year. They have money for penthouse views and for pet projects, just not for their frontline workers. Enough is enough. We will stay out until our members receive the fair pay that they deserve."

Is there a NJ Transit strike?

What they're saying:

"We presented them the last proposal; they rejected it and walked away with two hours left on the clock," said Tom Haas, general chairman of the BLET.

Kolluri described the situation as a "pause in the conversations."

• MORE: Potential NJ Transit strike: These alternatives could help commuters

"I certainly expect to pick back up these conversations as soon as possible," he said late Thursday during a joint news conference with New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy. "If they’re willing to meet tonight, I’ll meet them again tonight. If they want to meet tomorrow morning, I’ll do it again. Because I think this is an imminently workable problem. The question is, do they have the willingness to come to a solution."

Murphy said it was important to "reach a final deal that is both fair to employees and at the same time affordable to New Jersey’s commuters and taxpayers."

"Again, we cannot ignore the agency’s fiscal realities," Murphy said.

Kolluri and Murphy said Thursday night that the problem isn’t so much whether both sides can agree to a wage increase, but whether they can do so under terms that wouldn’t then trigger other unions to demand similar increases and create a financially unfeasible situation for NJ Transit.

"I'll be the first to acknowledge that all of the agencies’ employees, including our locomotive engineers, are the backbone of New Jersey's public transit system," Murphy said. "But the workers and families who rely on our transit system every single day are the backbone of our entire economy and any possibility of abandoning these workers and families, our neighbors indeed, at the last minute would be completely unacceptable and unjustifiable."

Park-and-ride

What you can do:

Each weekday starting Monday, there will be four park and rides set up – two of them, the one at Secaucus Junction and PNC Bank Arts Center – will take commuters directly to the Port Authority Bus Terminal.

The other in Hamilton will bring riders to Newark, where they can get on PATH trains. The fourth location at Woodbridge Center Mall will take commuters to the Harrison PATH station. 

Are NJ Transit buses running today?

NJ Transit posted a contingency plan on their website. One aspect of the plan includes adding limited capacity to existing New York commuter bus routes.

However, even with the plan, the agency estimates it can only carry 20% of current rail customers. The routes that will be affected include:

• Northeast Corridor: 108, 112, 115 and 129 bus routes.
• Northeast Corridor: 108, 112, 115 and 129 bus routes.
• North Jersey Coast Line: 116 and 133/135 bus routes.
• Raritan Valley Line: 112 and 113 bus routes.
• Morris & Essex Lines: 107 bus routes.
• Montclair-Boonton Lines: 193 and 324 bus routes.
• Main/Bergen County Lines: 145, 163, 164 and 190 bus routes.
• Pascack Valley Line: 163, 164 and 165 bus routes.

NJ Transit will also be accepting valid rail tickets on buses.

Luxury bus company

Private bus company Boxcar will be launching emergency bus services for travelers affected by the strike.

Boxcar riders will be guaranteed seats, and the service has enhanced its schedule to accommodate the new commuters. The service has run routes out of Bergen, Essex, Morris, Somerset and Union counties, but just added a limited Metuchen line due to online demand.

Metro-North Railroad

Metro-North will cross-honor Port Jervis and Pascack Valley tickets on the Hudson and Harlem lines.

The Port Jervis and Pascack Valley Lines are NJ Transit rail lines that operate west of the Hudson River – both lines are operated under contract with Metro-North Railroad.

Is the PATH running today?

Click HERE for more information.

Shakira at MetLife Stadium

Local perspective:

Due to the strike, NJ Transit will not be operating train or bus service to MetLife Stadium for two upcoming Shakira concerts.

Big picture view:

The walkout comes a month after union members overwhelmingly rejected a labor agreement with management. Both sides had earlier said the tentative agreement included a "reasonable wage increase" for union members as well as the resolution of a long-standing grievance.

The walkout is the state’s first transit strike in more than 40 years.

Congress has the power to intervene and block the strike and force the union to accept a deal, but lawmakers have not shown a willingness to do that this time like they did in 2022 to prevent a national freight railroad strike.

Weekend negotiations

What's next:

On Sunday, both parties will head back to the negotiation table, with many hoping things clear up, and the strike is over before the new workweek. In the meantime, NJ Transit officials are encouraging everyone to work from home, if possible.

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