🚉 BLET says they have reached an agreement with NJ Transit

🚉 Trains will roll Tuesday morning

🚉 Gov. Phil Murphy & NJ Transit CEO Kris Kolluri will make a statement at 7:45 p.m.


After trains screeched to a halt on Friday because of a strike, NJ Transit and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen reached an agreement Sunday.

Service will resume Tuesday morning, not Monday as initially annouced by BLET.

Gov. Phil Murphy and NJ Transit CEO/President CEO Kris Kolluri announced the agreement in a press briefing Sunday night. They said the contingency plan for enhanced bus service for the strike will still be in effect on Monday as is an "extraordinarily complex operation" to restart the train.

"Coming back into service there are several things that have to happen in order to make sure the railroad works properly. We have to pre-position the equipment. We have to do safety checks. We have to make sure that the engineers who have now officially concluded the strike, or soon to conclude the strike, are now called into work, and to make sure that their schedules are all matched up, where they where they need to go. This is an extraordinarily complex operation," Kolluri said during a press briefing Sunday night.

Kolluri and Murphy encouraged riders to work from home on Monday if possible. The governor said that Monday is the second least busiest day of the week for NJ Transit.

Supplemental bus service from four regional Park & Rides in Secaucus, PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, Hamilton and Woodbridge Center will be in place and operating on Monday, May 19 only. NJ Transit will continue to deploy customer ambassadors at stations and Park & Ride locations to assist customers as train service restarts.

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Deal details undisclosed

Neither NJ Transit nor BLET disclosed details of the agreement. Murphy said that the deal negotiated by Kolluri meets the agency's goal of not busting NJ Transit's budget while providing a fair wage increase for engineers.

"They have proven once again why New Jersey is the quintessential organized labor state. Even in the midst of a seemingly intractable situation, Kris and his colleagues never gave up on providing our locomotive engineers the raises they have earned while also ensuring that our public transit system remains accessible and affordable," Murphy said.

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Supplemental bus service offered by NJ Transit on Monday 5/19
Supplemental bus service offered by NJ Transit on Monday 5/19 (NJ Transit)
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Weekend talks successful

Both sides met on Saturday and again Sunday. The National Mediation Board was present at Sunday's session.

BLET's 450 NJ Transit engineers will vote by electronic ballot. NJ Transit's board will vote at its next meeting June 11.

In a statement, BLET General Chairman Tom Haas did not disclose exact details of the deal except to say it boosts the hourly pay for members beyond the proposal they rejected last month and beyond where we were when talks ended Thursday and a strike was called.

“We also were able to show management ways to boost engineers’ wages that will help NJT with retention and recruitment, without causing any significant budget issue or requiring a fare increase," Haas said.

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