New Jersey Transit workers areon strikeFriday for the first time in 42 years, paralyzing one of the country's busiest transport regions and leaving as many as 350,000 commuters affected as rail riders end up stranded or seeking alternative routes. The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen union and NJ Transit could not reach an agreement overnight and the strike began at one minute past midnight Friday. Here's what you need to know. All NJ Transit rail routes have stopped running, including the Metro-North west of Hudson service. The company urges people to work from home where possible. While the network is making some limited alternative travel arrangements, these should be used for "essential purposes only." NJ Transit says 1,200 staff who are not covered by the union agreement will support its emergency plan, at a cost of $4 million per day. Buses are still running but commuters should expect them to be busier than normal through Friday and into next week, despite an increased service on several key routes. From Monday, NJ Transit said it has a contingency plan that accommodates "an extremely limited number of rail customers" by adding "very limited capacity" to New York City commuter bus routes near rail stations. This includes using private transport contractors to operate bus services from key park and ride locations at peak weekday times, for the 70,000 daily New York City-bound passengers. But NJ Transit says this can only carry about 20% of the normal rail passengers, "as the bus system capacity can not replace the railroad." These park and ride services, operated on a first-come, first-served basis, are at Secaucus Junctionto Port Authority Bus Terminal PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdelto Port Authority Bus Terminal Hamilton Rail Stationto Newark Penn Station PATH Woodbridge Center Mallto Harrison PATH Station More information is available at academybus.com and theNJ Transit website. Buses with extra capacity during the industrial action include Northeast Corridor:108, 112, 115 and 129 bus routes North Jersey Coast Line:116 and 133/135 bus routes Raritan Valley Line:112 and 113 bus routes Morris & Essex Lines:107 bus route Montclair-Boonton Lines:193 and 324 bus routes Main/Bergen County Lines:145, 163, 164 and 190 bus routes Pascack Valley Line:163, 164 and 165 bus routes What if I've already bought a ticket?All rail tickets and passes with an origin or destination of New York, Newark or Hoboken will be accepted on at all park and ride services as well as NJ Transit buses and light rail lines.