North America’s largest commuter rail system was shut down on Saturday after unionized workers in the New York City area went on strike.

The Long Island Rail Road that serves the city’s eastern suburbs ceased operations on early Saturday morning after five unions representing about half its workforce walked off the job.

The two sides have been negotiating for months on a new contract, and the Trump administration had even interceded to try and broker a deal. But the unions were legally allowed to strike starting at 12.01am on Saturday.

Kevin Sexton, national vice-president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, said no new negotiations have been scheduled.

“We’re far apart at this point,” Sexton said early on Saturday. “We are truly sorry that we are in this situation.”

Janno Lieber, the MTA chairman, said in a statement on Saturday that “this was not the result we were looking for” but added that “we cannot and will not do a deal that shifts huge costs to our riders by forcing fare hikes”.

He claimed that the agency’s last offer “gave the union everything they said they wanted in terms of pay” and that in his opinion,it was “apparent that these unions always intended to strike”.

The walkout, the first for the LIRR since a two-day strike in 1994, promises to cause headaches for some sports fans planning to see the crosstown baseball rivals the New York Yankees and Mets battle this weekend or to watch the NBA’s New York Knicks playoff run at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan. Both sports venues have dedicated LIRR stops.

If the shutdown continues past the weekend, the roughly 250,000 people who ride the system to and from work each weekday will be forced to find alternative routes into New York City from its Long Island suburbs.

For many, that likely means navigating the region’s notoriously congested roads.

New York’s governor, Kathy Hochul, said in a statement on Saturday morning that the unions’ demands could “raise fares as much at 8%, pit workers against one another and risk tax hikes for Long Islanders”.

“I stand with the LIRR riders and will fight to preserve the long-term stability of the MTA,” Hochul, who is up for re-election this year, said. “I believe a deal can be done and I urge both the MTA and these unions to return to the table and bargain non-stop until a deal is reached.”

Gil Lang, the general chair of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen’s LIRR general committe said on Saturday: “To every LIRR passenger whose trip is disrupted, know that the MTA left us no choice but to strike.”

The MTA has said it will provide free limited shuttle buses on weekdays to New York City subway stations, but that contingency plan wasn’t envisioned to handle all the riders the system normally carries on a workday. The MTA is also encouraging those who can to work from home and avoid nonessential travel.

The most recent contract talks have stalled on the question of worker’s salaries and health care premiums.

The MTA has said the unions’ initial demands would have led to fare increases and affected contract negotiations with other unionized workers.

The unions, which represent locomotive engineers, machinists, signalmen and other train workers, have said more substantial raises were warranted to help workers keep up with inflation and rising living costs.

But Gerard Bringmann, chair of the LIRR ommuter Council, a rider advocacy group, said in a statement that if the unions get the pay increases they are looking for, “it will come at the expense of our riders who will see next year’s 4% fare increase doubled to 8%”.

“Like the union workers, we too are burdened by the increase in the cost of living here on Long Island” he added.

With Hochul, a Democrat, facing re-election later this year, the pressure might be on the MTA to strike a deal to end the shutdown, said William Dwyer, a labor relations expert at Rutgers University in New Jersey, where commuter rail workers staged a three-day strike last year.

“She’s up for re-election, and Long Island is a critical vote for her,” he said. “So if there’s a significant fare hike, that does not bode well for her on election day.”

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