A failed Murphy Administration gambit to avert the first NJ Transit rail strike in four decades means 350,000 daily riders will wake up on Friday in need of a new plan.
“It would be correct to characterize it as there has been a pause in the conversation,” explained NJ Transit CEO Kris Kolluri at a press conference standing alongside Governor Murphy, giving reporters an update on the stalled negotiations. “I expect to be back as soon as possible. This is a workable problem, the question is, do they have the willing need to come to a solution?”
Trenton estimates that approximately 100,000 of those riders need NJ Transit (meaning the don’t have another option), and the state’s strike contingency plan – to employ buses – won’t come into play until Monday and will only service 20% of those daily raily commuters impacted by mothballed trains.
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen wants more money for its members Administration officials say that’s impossible with additional fare AND tax increases. NJ Transit fares already jumped 15% on July 1, 2024 and are set to rise another punishing 3% this upcoming July.
“Bankrupting NJ Transit in order to avoid a strike isn’t an option,” opined state Senator Declan O’Scanlon (R-13) on Thursday evening. “Massive fare increases and/or massive tax increases to appease an irrationally recalcitrant union…is no way to run a railroad. The deal they offered was more than fair. Time to stand together, time to stand our ground.”
The last strike in 1983 lasted for 34 days.
Gov. Murphy and NJ TRANSIT CEO Kris Kolluri To Hold Press Conference on Impending Rail Strike. https://t.co/ccdxEihlwl
— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) May 16, 2025
