In 2016, an agreement was announced in the final hours before a March 11 strike deadline was set by all of NJ Transit’s 15 rail unions.

If the engineers do walk off the job, the agency plans to increase bus service, saying it would add “very limited” capacity to existing New York commuter bus routes in close proximity to rail stations and will contract with private carriers to operate bus service from key regional park-and-ride locations during weekday peak periods.

A strike of train engineers could happen May 16. And NJ Transit's 172,000 weekday rail riders need to consider alternatives.