Governor Phil Murphy said Wednesday night that he's "hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst" regarding a possible NJ Transit rail strike.

Talks resume on Thursday between NJ Transit and its rail engineers' union to try to reach an agreement to avert a walkout by the union early Friday.

NJ Transit is already preparing for the walkout by urging as many people as possible to start working from home.

Hundreds of thousands of train commuters are bracing for a possible NJ Transit rail strike that could come as soon as 12:01 a.m. on Friday. Gov. Phil Murphy said Tuesday that New Jersey officials are considering all options,

NJ Transit and an engineers’ union appear to be steaming ahead to the first major rail strike in decades starting early Friday, even as both sides convene in Washington, D.C., where they pledged to continue negotiations.

Beyonce fans might be better off riding a horse to next week’s “Cowboy Carter” concerts at MetLife Stadium if a strike shuts down NJ Transit rail service. NJ Transit’s train engineers could walk off the job as soon as Friday after Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers members voted to reject a tentative agreement between the leaders of the agency and the union.

With a strike looming as soon as Friday, officials of NJ Transit and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers met with the National Mediation Board on Monday in Washington. No agreement was reached. NJ Transit CEO Kris Kolluri thanked the board for convening the meeting in a statement,