The Long Island Rail Road shut down at 12:01 a.m. Saturday after a group of unions failed to reach a new contract deal with the MTA and went on strike, according to officials on both sides of the negotiations. The move brought service on the country’s busiest commuter rail service to a halt for the first time in over 30 years. A Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers union spokesperson told Gothamist they didn’t expect the parties to return to negotiations Saturday. The MTA and five unions representing a majority of the LIRR’s workforce couldn’t come to an agreement over pay raises and changes to work rules before a midnight strike deadline. As long as the strike drags on, some 275,000 daily commuters who use the railroad will need to find other ways to travel. Kevin Sexton, national vice president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, said in a late-night press conference that no new round of talks had yet been scheduled. “ We're far apart at this point and we feel it's unnecessary because we went through the process,” he said. Union officials said the parties would be in touch about next steps. If the strike continues into Monday, the MTA plans to deploy limited shuttle bus service for commuters to connect to the city’s subway stations. Officials estimated the alternative service would cost as much as $550,000 daily.

MTA workers hand out information about the strike at Atlantic Terminal Saturday morning. Jill Webb / Gothamist

At the Bay Shore, Hicksville and Mineola LIRR stations, shuttles will take commuters to the Howard Beach-JFK A train station. At the Huntington and Ronkonkoma LIRR stations, shuttles will take commuters to the Jamaica-179th St. F train station. Commuters in Nassau County can also use NICE bus services to get to the Flushing-Main St. station to ride the 7 train or the Jamaica Bus Terminal in Queens, which is close to the 169th St. F subway station. A representative of the New York State Department of Transportation said it was preparing mitigation measures in anticipation of busier roads on Long Island, including electronic message signs on the highways warning drivers to plan ahead. State transportation officials also deployed more tow trucks, highway maintenance staff and traffic signal technicians in case of an emergency along the roads. “We have to recognize over 277,000 daily customers. We couldn’t possibly accommodate that by buses. We have to do everything we can,” LIRR President Rob Free said last month while going over plans to provide shuttle buses if the workers walked off the job. The MTA and Gov. Kathy Hochul are also encouraging businesses and their employees to work from home if possible. At Atlantic Terminal in Downtown Brooklyn early Saturday, MTA workers were handing out info cards about the shuttle buses and advising commuters about the strike. A few dozen picketers were outside. Feiona Harris was at the terminal, planning to commute to Shirley in Suffolk County. She said she only found out about the strike that morning, and wasn’t entirely sure what she’d do. “Uber is going to be very expensive,” Harris said. “I can’t afford it.” Shanique Grant was also planning to take the LIRR early Saturday morning after finishing an overnight shift as a nurse. She was deciding between shelling out the money for Uber or taking an ever longer commute on other public transit.

Dozens of people picketed outside Atlantic Terminal Saturday morning as the LIRR shut down for a strike for the first time in decades. Jill Webb / Gothamist