SOUTHEASTERN NEW YORK — A strike by unions representing Long Island Rail Road workers shut down LIRR service just after midnight Saturday after contract talks with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority broke down. The walkout, the railroad's first since a two-day stoppage in 1994, halted a system that carries about 250,000 passengers each weekday.

Labor unions representing about half of the LIRR's 7,000 workers announced the strike after negotiations ended Friday without a new contract. The MTA and five unions representing 3,500 workers, including locomotive engineers, machinists and signalmen, had agreed to terms for the first three years of a four-year deal but remained divided over the fourth year. The unions were legally permitted to walk out at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, and picketers appeared outside Penn Station and the Ronkonkoma and Jamaica stations.

The unions sought a total raise of 16% over four years. The MTA offered a pay raise of at least 9.5% over three years plus an effective 4.5% increase in year four, with options tied to work rules concessions. MTA officials said a 5% pay hike would lead to higher fares systemwide, including on subways, buses and Metro-North.

MTA Chairman Janno Lieber said the agency would not agree to terms that shift costs to riders. "We cannot and will not do a deal that shifts huge costs to our riders by forcing fare hikes," he said. "Our last offer literally gave them everything they said they wanted in terms of pay but they rejected even that."

Kevin Sexton, national vice president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, said the sides remained far apart. "Wages in the fourth year, we were negotiating, we were willing to move down a little bit, but there's a far distance again," he said. Sexton added, "There were things that we had tried to talk about that they had previously discussed, and they flat out said they weren't interested."

New York Governor Kathy Hochul attributed the breakdown to federal action. "The walkout is the direct result of reckless actions by the Trump administration to cut mediation short and push these negotiations toward a strike," she said. Hochul also said, "I believe a deal can be done and I urge both the MTA and these unions to return to the table and bargain non-stop until a deal is reached."

The MTA encouraged riders to work from home if possible and to use NICE Bus service to Flushing, Main Street and the Jamaica Bus Terminal. A bus service will run from Bay Shore, Hempstead Lake State Park near Lakeview, Hicksville and Mineola to the Howard Beach–JFK Airport A train station, and from Huntington and Ronkonkoma to the Jamaica–179th Street F train stop. Prorated refunds will be issued to May monthly ticket holders for the days the strike impacts service, the LIRR website stated, adding, "Unfortunately, there is no substitute for the Long Island Rail Road, and its shutdown will cause severe congestion and delays."