Locomotive engineers for NJ Transit launched a strike early Friday morning, shutting down all rail service across the state in the agency’s first rail stoppage in more than four decades.
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) notified NJ Transit of its intent to strike effective 12:01 a.m. Friday, May 16, after contract negotiations over wages collapsed. The walkout affects approximately 450 engineers and halts commuter rail service for hundreds of thousands of daily riders across New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.
“We have been informed by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) of their intent to strike effective 12:01 AM on Friday, May 16, 2025,” NJ Transit stated in a red-banner alert on its website just before midnight Thursday. “This will result in the suspension of all NJ TRANSIT rail services.”
Union leaders argue that engineers have not received a pay raise since 2019 and remain the lowest paid among major commuter railroads in the U.S. “If our members don’t get the fair wages they’ve earned by Friday’s deadline, NJT will face its first strike in over 40 years,” the union said Thursday. “Hardworking Teamsters will win it.”
NJ Transit has activated a limited contingency plan, including substitute bus service and park-and-ride options, but agency officials caution that those alternatives can only accommodate a fraction of regular rail commuters. Riders are urged to work from home if possible.
For up-to-date information and travel alternatives, commuters should visit: www.njtransit.com/railstoppage
Governor Phil Murphy said Thursday his administration is evaluating emergency options to mitigate the strike’s impact.
The last NJ Transit rail strike occurred in 1983.
