LIRR talks have ended for the day on Wednesday and are expected to resume Thursday.

Both sides are exchanging proposals and both sides say they have found Gov. Hochul’s comments encouraging.

She said nobody wins in a strike and everyone will be hurt.

“The riders who rely on the Long Island Railroad and the thousands of workers will lose wages,” Hochul said. “The LIRR is the life blood of this island. Nearly 300,000 riders take it every single day. and we know that a strike would have significant impacts on the entirety of Long Island.”

She said the potential strike was accelerated by unprecedented action from the Trump administration.

“Now, of course, no one wants a strike. I don’t want a strike. That’s why I’ve told the team at the MTA to bargain and that’s exactly what they’re doing,” she said. “But I’ll tell you this. I continue to worry about affordability for Long Islanders. I’m not willing to ask Long Islanders to pay unnecessary fare hikes or higher taxes. I worked hard to put the MTA on stable footing, and I will not risk that stability. So we have to be ready for whatever happens, and we are.”

She said in order to get a settlement, the unions need to start working to find a compromise.

“Yes, workers deserve to be paid fairly for their work, but at the same time, we must be responsible with public funds and the fares paid by Long Island residents,” Hochul said.”I believe that a deal can be reached here, and I’ll continue to urge both sides to work together to avoid a strike.”