New Jersey Transit is on the brink of a “huge crisis” as a train engineers strike threatens to upend commutes as early as May 16, according to US Representative Mikie Sherrill.

A contingency plan for a potential strike involves bringing in additional buses to move passengers into New York City, the destination for the majority of NJ Transit riders

NJ Transit could descend in a “death spiral” that is being seen at other financially strapped transit systems if it agrees to a rail union’s salary demands, its CEO said. That warning came from NJ Transit CEO Kris Kolluri Wednesday morning before he left for scheduled negotiations with a rail union that is threatening to strike in 2 weeks.