If the engineers do walk off the job, the agency plans to increase bus service, saying it would add “very limited” capacity to existing New York commuter bus routes in close proximity to rail stations and will contract with private carriers to operate bus service from key regional park-and-ride locations during weekday peak periods.

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.

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