Train strike sparks travel mess in New York area

NEW YORK: Train engineers seeking higher pay went on strike on Friday in New Jersey, triggering travel misery for New York-area commuters in America´s biggest metropolitan corridor.

New Jersey´s first state-wide transit strike in decades began a minute after midnight when contract talks fell apart, so many people showed up at stations unaware that trains were not running.

Commuters scrambled to find alternative ways to get across the Hudson River into New York, looking at much higher fares to go by Uber or Amtrak, a national rail system. A ticket to Manhattan with the latter can cost $98.

Rahul Thota, a 20-year-old computer science student, found himself stranded in the city of Trenton while trying to get to a doctor´s appointment in another city. He cancelled it, then wondered how to make the 100 mile (160 km) trip back to his campus.

“I can´t afford to pay more than $100 to get the Amtrak ticket,” Thota told The New York Times. “I´m a student. I have bills to pay.” NJ Transit, the third-largest transit system in the United States, said 350,000 customers rely on its services each day.

Members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) union picketed outside rail stations as the strike set in. Many waved signs that accused NJ Transit executives of treating themselves to expensive perks while train drivers´ wages lagged behind those of colleagues in other areas of America. The union said it has been locked in a years-long dispute with NJ Transit, with its members going five years without a raise.