A labor dispute between NJ Transit’s locomotive engineers and the Garden State transit agency’s management threatened to become New Jersey’s first rail strike in more than 40

The National Mediation Board called NJ Transit and locomotive engineers to Washington to help thaw negotiations before a potential strike May 16.

NJ Transit and an engineers’ union appear to be heading toward a major rail strike that would start Friday — the first one in decades. Currently, both sides are in Washington, D.C. participating in mediation,

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.

Governor Phil Murphy said Wednesday night that he's "hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst" regarding a possible NJ Transit rail strike.

NJ Transit pushed a critical service advisory to its hundreds of thousands of customers Thursday, urging them to get to their destinations before midnight or risk being stranded at the start of the first rail strike in decades.

A top New Jersey Transit union official said Friday the railroad needs to make significant movement on wages if a potentially crippling strike is to be averted before a May 16 deadline.

An NJ Transit strike could trigger other transit changes around the region, including worsening traffic due to displaced NJ Transit passengers driving to work. Newark Light Rail will operate extended peak hour service if a strike happens, NJ Transit said. NJ Transit will also add bus service on regular routes.

Representatives for NJ Transit and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers are scheduled to meet Monday in Washington, D.C., called there by federal arbitrators to hash out their differences as New Jersey sits on the brink of its first major rail strike in four decades.