Watch Live: NJ Transit strike ending as engineers approve tentative deal

The NJ Transit strike is coming to an end after the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen approved a deal. Train service will resume on Tuesday. 

The strike halted trains across the state for three days before the the tentative agreement with the engineers was reached. 

Gov. Phil Murphy and NJ Transit President and CEO Kris Kolluri were scheduled to make an announcement at 7:45 p.m., the agency said in an earlier statement. CBS New York will stream the press conference live. 

Why NJ Transit engineers walked off the job

In negotiations, BLET, the union representing about 460 engineers, had been arguing neighboring transit agencies paid more and that the cost of living has gone up in New Jersey. NJ Transit had said the requested raises would blow up the agency’s budget and result in higher costs for riders.    

Engineers walked off the job at 12:01 a.m. Friday after negotiations were unsuccessful. The strike fully shut down NJ Transit rail service, along with Metro-North’s west of Hudson service.

It created a chaotic commute Friday morning as more than 100,000 people who ride the rails daily had to find alternate routes, leading to crowding on buses, PATH trains and even ferries.

NJ Transit came up with a contingency plan while asking commuters to work from home. 

The last NJ Transit strike was back in 1983 and it lasted about three weeks. Most recently, there was a potential strike in 2016, but it was averted just a day before it was scheduled to begin.

This is breaking news. Check for updates. 

Christine Sloan

contributed to this report.