On the first day of a strike shutting down NJ Transit trains, Phil Murphy said the engineers' strike was, "frankly a mess of their own making."

Speaking at a press conference Friday morning in Monmouth County, the governor said there was an "agreement" not too long ago that would have paid engineers at roughly the same level as those working for the Long Island Railroad. In other words, NJ Transit engineers would be paid the same as their counterparts in the region.

However, Murphy said a "small handful of locomotive engineers" walked away from that agreement - and now trains are sitting in rail yards.

The governor stressed that he is committed to reaching a deal that would be in the state's best interests long term, despite the fact he is leaving office in eight months.
Murphy said it would be easy to approve an irresponsible settlement in his last year of office, but that he will not do that.

Kris Kolluri, the CEO of New Jersey Transit, said that despite the strike, there is no real animosity between the union and state officials. He said the engineers want to go back to work.

"The fact that we're not agreeing doesn't mean we are throwing chairs at each other," the governor said.

In the meantime, the state is relying on Amtrak, PATH trains, light rail and ferries to help the 350,000 commuters who ride NJ Transit trains everyday

The "good" news, officials said, was that the strike began on a Friday, which tends to be the least busiest of the work week.

Kolluri was optimistic, saying, "We're 95 percent there," in terms of reaching a settlement.