A looming NJ Transit rail strike could upend the commutes of some 350,000 people starting Friday as engineers prepare for the first walkout in more than 40 years. And the New Jersey public transportation corporation’s emergency backup plan won’t come close to filling the gap.

The union representing NJ Transit engineers members have authorized a strike for Friday at 12:01 a.m. if no agreement has been reached.

After dueling press conferences filled with fiery rhetoric on Friday, NJ Transit and a locomotive engineers union met in Washington Monday for talks to avoid a rail strike.

The union that represents the engineers who drive New Jersey Transit’s commuter trains has threatened a walkout as soon as Friday if a contract deal is not reached.

If no deal is reached, all New Jersey Transit commuter trains - and the MTA Metro-North West of Hudson service - will stop running.

NJ Transit said that 350,000 commuters would be affected by a strike. If the strike occurs, a contingency plan would move rail commuters to its buses. However, only about 20%, or 20,000, of its daily rail commuters could be accommodated by the plan, according to Kolluri.

A possible strike against New Jersey Transit by the engineers' union could lead to a shutdown of NJ Transit train lines, causing a disruption to over 350,000 commuters.

For months, officials at the rail agency and the NJ Transit Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen have been locked in tense negotiations over pay raises for the roughly 500 transit workers represented by the union.

NJ Transit train engineers are preparing for a possible strike as the deadline to negotiate a new contract with the agency looms.

NJ Transit and BLET face a May 15 deadline to reach a contract deal. A strike could start May 16, disrupting service.

NJ Transit CEO Kris Kolluri, ECPIP director Ashley Koning and Sen. Cory Booker join the show after a busy week in New Jersey politics.