Union members cited five years without wage increases and said the new contract aims to bring NJ Transit wages closer to regional norms, which average around $113,000 a year for NJ Transit engineers, with union demands aiming as high as $170,000 a year.

Hotel bookings jumped 10%, highways became parking lots, and subway cars overflowed when New Jersey experienced its first statewide rail strike.

New Jersey rail lines stood silent for a second day as union members and state officials agreed to keep hammering out a contract Sunday as the start of the work week loomed.

The BLET union said picket lines will begin at Penn Station in New York City, the Atlantic City Rail Terminal and NJ Transit headquarters in Newark at 4 a.m. ET. The union represents 51,000 engineers and other train service workers across the U.S.