As the strike entered its second day, the agency’s chief executive, Kris Kolluri, said that he planned to meet with union representatives at 1 p.m., a day earlier than planned.

NJ Transit's CEO said the agency is preparing for the workweek commute by “surging” buses to help commuters, but cautioned that buses can’t handle the entire volume of the commuter rail system.

The base wage for an N.J. Transit engineer is $89,000, according to Jamie Horwitz, a spokesperson for the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), and union members are seeking a $10 hourly wage increase. Median engineer pay is $105,000, and the union says members have not received a raise in at least five years.