Long Island Rail Road Strike Shuts Down Busiest U.S. Passenger Rail Service

Source: New York Times

Long Island Rail Road Strike Shuts Down Busiest U.S. Passenger Rail Service

This is the first strike on the service in more than 30 years. It comes after three years of failed contract negotiations, two federal interventions and a volley of last-minute bargaining.



A man walks past a Long Island Rail Road train.
The strike is the first on the Long Island Rail Road since 1994. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

By Stefanos Chen
May 16, 2026
Updated 1:33 a.m. ET

Thousands of workers for the Long Island Rail Road walked off the job early Saturday morning, staging the first strike in more than 30 years for America's busiest passenger railway and grinding service to a halt.

After three years of failed contract negotiations, two federal interventions and a volley of last-minute bargaining, unions representing about half of the work force decided to take to the picket line to protest what they called insufficient wage increases.

Five unions representing more than 3,500 workers -- including engineers, signalmen and machinists -- called the strike after contract discussions with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the state agency that runs the railroad, fell apart.

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The strike sets up a cascade of travel woes for the more than 270,000 daily riders who rely on the service to travel between New York City and Long Island, a sprawl of suburbs and bedroom communities where many of the region’s workers live.

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https://www.nytimes.com/by/stefanos-chen

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/16/nyregion/lirr-strike.html