The union, known as BLET, was seeking pay comparable to the wages made by engineers at other nearby railroads, including Long Island Rail Road. NJ Transit, which has long had shaky finances, was trying to avoid blowing a hole in its own budget.

With full service not resuming until Tuesday, commuters can drive or take the bus, PATH or ferry. But there are also some outside-the-box options.

After a whirlwind three days of diverting tens of thousands of people from NJ Transit's rail system, the agency reached a tentative deal with its locomotive engineers to end a historic strike that sent shockwaves statewide — just in time for the work week.