NJ Transit and a locomotive engineer’s union are still negotiating with less than a day until a strike deadline. At a press conference Wednesday night, NJ Transit CEO Kris Kolluri and union officials expressed optimism about a deal being made before midnight.

Unless a last-minute deal is reached, a work stoppage by locomotive engineers would affect more than 300,000 commuters.

NJ Transit President and CEO Kris Kolluri said the two sides have had “constructive” meetings this week in Newark and in Washington D.C.