A NJ Transit shutdown is about to complicate your morning commute—what to know
Your morning commute might be going off the rails—literally.
NJ Transit train engineers are threatening to strike starting Friday, May 16, and if they do, it could bring the entire rail system to a screeching halt. That includes not just the NJ Transit rail lines that carry hundreds of thousands of daily commuters, but also Metro-North's Port Jervis and Pascack Valley lines west of the Hudson. The potential shutdown? Total. No trains. Anywhere.
The reason: pay. Engineers, represented by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, rejected a tentative agreement in April and are demanding compensation closer to $190,000 annually, a figure NJ Transit says would bankrupt the system unless fares jump 34-percent or corporate transit taxes surge 37-percent. The agency offered a counter that would push average salaries to $170,000 by 2029, but no deal has been reached for now.
If the strike does happen, NJ Transit is urging riders to stay home unless travel is essential. The contingency plan is a patchwork of extra buses, park-and-ride shuttles and enhanced service on select routes. It's a valiant effort, but it only covers about 20-percent of current rail ridership, so expect long lines, limited seating and parking lots that fill up faster than you can say 'Montclair-Boonton Line.'
New pop-up bus routes from four park-and-ride hubs—Secaucus Junction, Woodbridge Center Mall, Hamilton Rail Station, and PNC Bank Arts Center—will operate weekday peak hours to NYC or key PATH stations. Regular NJ Transit buses and light rail will keep rolling, and rail tickets will be cross-honored, but only on NJ Transit-operated lines.
Meanwhile, Metro-North is prepping its own backup: honoring west-of-Hudson tickets on other routes, adding capacity on the Hudson line and opening alternate parking.
in a statement.
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