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.

After dueling press conferences filled with fiery rhetoric on Friday, NJ Transit and a locomotive engineers union met in Washington Monday for talks to avoid a rail strike.

New Jersey Transit and its engineers are in Washington Monday to meet with the National Mediation Board​ as part of an effort to reach a contract deal ahead of Friday's potential strike​.