NJ Transit engineers on strike after contract negotiations fail — wreaking havoc on commuters

NJ Transit has failed to reach a contract agreement with locomotive engineers, resulting in the first major transit strike to hit New Jersey since 1983.

The rail system had been warning commuters for weeks to expect major service disruptions across its network in the event of a strike, which could affect its 70,000 daily riders going into Manhattan.

Overall, 350,000 commuters across the state could be affected, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said Wednesday night.

“After 15 hours of non-stop contract talks today, no agreement on a wage increase was reached this evening,” the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen union said in a statement about 30 minutes before the 11:59 p.m. deadline.