NJ Transit riders are facing massive service disruptions as the system barrels like a runaway train toward Thursday’s midnight deadline to avoid its first major rail strike in over 40 years. The Garden State-owned rail service has already festooned stations with screaming-red signage warning of deep service cuts starting at midnight Friday if contract negotiations with the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers union fall through.

With a potential strike or lockout now less than 24 hours away, NJ Transit is urging customers to reach travel destinations by midnight tonight in order to avoid being stranded at 12:01 a.m. on Friday,

NJ Transit rail engineers are set to strike if a deal cannot be reached by the midnight deadline, impacting hundreds of thousands of commuters.