NJ Transit and an engineers’ union appear to be heading toward a major rail strike that would start Friday — the first one in decades. Currently, both sides are in Washington, D.C. participating in mediation,

The union representing NJ Transit engineers members have authorized a strike for Friday at 12:01 a.m. if no agreement has been reached.

A 37-year-old NJ Transit executive has been charged after authorities say he stole $700,000 worth of phones from the agency and then sold them for profit.

Representatives for NJ Transit and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers are scheduled to meet Monday in Washington, D.C., called there by federal arbitrators to hash out their differences as New Jersey sits on the brink of its first major rail strike in four decades.

Beyonce fans might be better off riding a horse to next week’s “Cowboy Carter” concerts at MetLife Stadium if a strike shuts down NJ Transit rail service. NJ Transit’s train engineers could walk off the job as soon as Friday after Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers members voted to reject a tentative agreement between the leaders of the agency and the union.