Negotiations will restart on Wednesday between New Jersey Transit and train engineers.

The 455 engineers who operate commuter trains are prepared to strike on May 16 if they don’t get a new contract with a significant pay raise.

Engineers, who turned the first contract offer down, say they haven’t had a raise since 2019.

If there’s a strike, hundreds of thousands of commuters would have to find a ride to work. At the Westfield train station, commuter Catherine Dougherty said she’d likely not go into her office.

“I probably wouldn’t,” she says. “Actually, I would try to work from home as much as I could.”

And if she must get into the city?

“I would probably drive, maybe an Uber. Maybe make my husband drive me,” Dougherty says.

Other commuters, like Kim Morrin, said she’s fully prepared should the trains stop running.

“I would take the bus,” says Morrin. “So hopefully, they can compensate by having more buses.”

Engineers want a pay raise - and eight of them left NJ Transit last week for Amtrak, which pays 20% more.

New Jersey Transit says its most recent offer bumped the average salary by 2027 up to $172,000. NJ Transit says if they give engineers what they want, fares will rise 17%.

Meanwhile, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is preparing for a spike in PATH riders if there’s a strike. New riders would join 194,127 commuters who use PATH daily.

It’s likely ridership on Hudson ferries will also rise.

Also, Boxcar, which is a private bus service, released the following message regarding the potential strike.

“The odds of a NJ Transit strike taking place are hovering between 75%-80%,” the company wrote. Boxcar management told members, “I suggest booking ahead for the weeks following May 15th.”

NJ Transit has said that it doesn't have enough buses to replace the railroad, so commuters could expect overcrowding and longer commutes and more traffic on the roads if there’s a strike.