With North America’s largest commuter rail system shut down, NY governor begs unions to resume talks

NEW YORK (AP) — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul pleaded with unions representing workers for the Long Island Rail Road, North America’s largest commuter rail system, to resume bargaining Sunday, saying a long strike hurts workers and hundreds of thousands of commuters.

“This is my official invitation. We didn’t want you to leave. You left. You’re welcome to come back. I’ll provide refreshments, whatever you like. Just c’mon back,” Hochul told a news conference as the strike — the first in three decades — entered its second day.

Hochul, appearing with the chief executive of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority that runs the railroad more commonly known by commuters as the “LIRR,” pleaded with the unions to try to reach a deal before Monday's morning commute.

“We all know that the railroad is the lifeblood of Long Island. Without it, life as we know it is simply not possible. The bottom line is, no one wins in a strike. Everyone is hurt,” she said.

The LIRR serves hundreds of thousands of commuters who live along a 118-mile-long and up to 23-mile-wide land mass that includes Brooklyn and Queens in New York City and the Hamptons, a summertime playground for the rich and famous near its eastern tip. The railroad has long provided commuters relief from its rush-hour clogged highways.

Most of its riders live outside New York City in two counties populated by nearly three million people.

After the news conference, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers and the Transportation Communications Union said in a statement that the union workers “are not asking for special treatment — they are simply fighting to keep up with the skyrocketing cost of living in the New York region after years without a raise.”

The railroad closed down and workers went on strike just after midnight Friday after five unions representing about half its workforce walked off the job.

The unions and the MTA have been negotiating for months on a new contract, with talks stalled over the question of workers' salaries and healthcare premiums. President Donald Trump’s administration tried to broker a deal, but the unions were legally allowed to strike starting at 12:01 a.m. Saturday.

At her news conference, Hochul said workers would lose every dollar that they would gain with a new contract by remaining on strike for three days.

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

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

At Hochul's news conference, MTA Chairman Janno Lieber said the unions' proposals would “blow up the MTA’s budget” but he joined the governor's request for the unions to resume talks.

“They elected to walk out. We’re more than willing to meet them halfway on wages,” he said.

The impact of the walkout, the first for the LIRR since a two-day strike in 1994, fell on many sports fans who wanted to see the Yankees and Mets battle or the Knicks’ playoff run at Madison Square Garden, which is located directly above the railroad’s Penn Station hub in Manhattan.

Would-be commuters were greeted all weekend by train schedule departure boards that listed ghost trains marked “No Passengers” rather than upcoming trains listed by destination.

Hochul said essential workers among the roughly 250,000 weekday LIRR riders can take buses into the city from six locations on Long Island starting at 4 a.m. Monday and during an evening rush-hour commute from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Hochul, a Democrat, blamed the Trump administration for cutting mediation short and pushing the negotiations toward a strike. Trump, a Republican, responded on his Truth Social platform Saturday, saying he had nothing to do with the strike and “never even heard about it until this morning.”

“No, Kathy, it’s your fault, and now looking over the facts, you should not have allowed this to happen,” Trump said.

Hochul urged companies and agencies that employ workers from Long Island to let them work from home whenever possible.

“It’s impossible to fully replace LIRR service. So effective Monday, I’m asking that regular commuters who can work from home, should. Please do so,” she said.

The MTA has said the unions’ initial demands to raise salaries would result in large fare increases and be disproportionate to what other unionized workers are paid.

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.

Long Island Rail Road workers walk on the picket line outside of Penn Station on the first day of their strike, Saturday, May 16, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

Long Island Rail Road trains sit at the West Side Yard on the first day of a Long Island Rail Road workers' strike, Saturday, May 16, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

A passenger waits by a sign board showing no Long Island Rail Road trains operating at the Moynihan Train Hall section of Penn Station on the first day of a strike on Saturday, May 16, 2026 in New York. (AP Photo/Michael R. Sisak)

Long Island Rail Road workers, including locomotive engineer Karl Bischoff, center, picket outside Penn Station on the first day of a strike in New York, on Saturday, May 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael R. Sisak)

A passenger looks at a closed off entrance to the Long Island Rail Road at Grand Central station, Saturday, May 16, 2026, in New York, on the first day of a strike after five unions representing about half the LIRR's workforce walked off the job. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

Recent outbreaks of hantavirus and norovirus on cruise ships are making headlines, but they’re unlikely to dim the growing popularity of vacation cruises, according to industry representatives and travel experts.

In fact, many within the industry still expect a record number of people worldwide to take cruises this year despite three passengers aboard the MV Hondius dying from hantavirus after the ship stopped in Argentina and a recent norovirus outbreak aboard a British ship docked in Bordeaux, France.

“The cruise consumer seems to be somewhat Teflon when it comes to stories like this,” said Rob Kwortnik, an associate professor at Cornell University’s Nolan School of Hotel Administration who closely watches the cruise industry.

In mid-April, an annual forecast by the Cruise Lines International Association, an industry trade group, estimated that 38.3 million people would travel on ocean-going ships this year, 4% more from a record 37.2 million passengers last year.

Industrywide sales figures are closely held. Asked about potential impacts from what happened aboard the MV Hondius, the trade association said it doesn’t comment or speculate on bookings. Several big cruise companies didn’t respond to questions from The Associated Press about customer demand, including Royal Caribbean, Norwegian and Carnival.

Oceanwide Expeditions, the Dutch company that owns the MV Hondius, said it doesn’t foresee any changes to its operations. It has a cruise setting sail from Keflavik, Iceland, on May 29.

Veteran cruisegoers said the outbreak would not affect their plans.

“I have eight cruises booked, and I’ll absolutely be booking another,” said Jenni Fielding, who blogs and posts social media videos about cruise trips under the moniker Cruise Mummy. “Cruising is as safe as any other type of holiday, provided travelers follow sensible health advice and stay aware of official guidance.”

Scott Eddy, a hospitality influencer, is currently on a cruise and docked in Monaco. Fellow passengers have not mentioned the hantavirus outbreak, he said.

“The average traveler understands that this is an isolated health situation and not something unique to cruise travel itself,” Eddy said.

CruiseCompete.com, an online marketplace where consumers making vacation plans can compare offers from travel agents, booked 31.7% more cabins in the first half of May compared to the same period last year, CEO Bob Levinstein said.

“I can categorically say that we have not seen any drop in demand,” Levinstein said.

Levinstein said that norovirus — an extremely contagious stomach bug that thrives in crowded environments — is conflated with cruises in the minds of many Americans because the U.S. Centers for Disease Control requires ships to disclose when 3% or more passengers report symptoms.

On a ship with 5,000 passengers, an illness impacting 3% of them “goes completely unnoticed by the vast majority of vacationers, and experienced cruisers know this,” he said.

Current news cycles rarely impact passengers' decisions to join a cruise because the trips generally are booked at least 6 months — and often as much as a year – in advance, Kwortnik said.

“People who are booking cruises tomorrow are thinking about the holidays,” he said.

During a conference call Thursday with investors, Switzerland-based cruise line Viking said demand for its river cruises softened briefly during the first three months of this year after the Iran war began but then quickly rebounded.

Viking said 92% of its 2026 cruises and 38% of its 2027 cruises were booked. The company didn’t mention hantavirus or norovirus.

Andrew Coggins, a cruise industry analyst and professor in Pace University’s Lubin School of Business, said even if travelers set to embark on a cruise soon are unnerved by the latest news, they’re unlikely to get a refund.

“I think if there’s any impact on demand, it would be in the long term. If you’re cruising in the next few months, you’re past the point at which you can get your money back,” he said.

Coggins said he thinks the hantavirus story got a lot of attention because it reminded people of the Diamond Princess, which was quarantined off Japan for two weeks in early 2020 after the coronavirus that grew into a global pandemic was detected on board.

The COVID-19 pandemic devastated the cruise industry, shutting down many smaller operators. Cruises didn’t see an upswing in passengers again until 2022, Coggins said.

There are still fewer cruise passengers from China and Japan than there were before COVID, according to CLIA. But Coggins said demand elsewhere is booming.

“There are new ships on order out to 2037. The cruise lines are bullish. They see demand growing and they want to offer new bells and whistles, new ports, new destinations,” he said.

One reason for cruising's growth is broad appeal across generations and income levels. In a recent U.S. survey, Bank of America found that Generation Z respondents and millennials were the most likely to say they planned to cruise over the next 12 months.

The survey also found that cruise spending rose for lower-income households even as those households spent less on airfare and lodging. Cruise lines have been wooing those passengers in recent years with shorter, more affordable itineraries.

Kwortnik said cruising also offers travelers value for their vacation dollars.

“On average, it costs more just to stay at a hotel in Miami than it does to sail on a cruise out of Miami – and the cruise includes lodging, multiple destinations, food, entertainment, and transportation all in the fare,” he said.

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Durbin reported from Detroit. Anderson reported from New York.

A barrier is set in front of the British cruise ship Ambition, as French authorities have ordered 1,700 passengers and crew to stay on board due to a gastrointestinal illness outbreak, in Bordeaux, southwestern France, Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Caroline Blumberg)

People walk past the British cruise ship Ambition, as French authorities have ordered 1,700 passengers and crew to stay on board due to a gastrointestinal illness outbreak, in Bordeaux, southwestern France, Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Caroline Blumberg)

The MV Hondius cruise ship departs the port in Praia, Cape Verde, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

Passengers and crew at the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius after arriving at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

The Dutch-flagged MV Hondius, a cruise ship carrying nearly 150 people remains off Cape Verde on Monday, May 4, 2026 after three passengers died and several others fell seriously ill in a suspected hantavirus outbreak. (Qasem Elhato via AP)