A strike on the Long Island Rail Road, the biggest commuter rail service in the United States, will be avoided for at least several months, after the unions threatening a work stoppage took the unusual step of seeking the White House’s intervention.

Unions representing thousands of workers for the railroad, which carries more than 270,000 passengers a day between Long Island and New York City, could have walked off the job as early as Thursday. A federal agency that had been overseeing negotiations with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the state agency that runs the railroad, last month permitted the workers to proceed with a strike.

But on Monday, representatives of the five unions — including engineers, machinists and signalmen — said they had officially asked President Trump to form a panel known as a presidential emergency board, which would postpone the strike and seek to reach a contract settlement.

The soonest a strike could now occur is mid-January, but further federal intervention could push off the strike to May 2026, according to representatives of the unions.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.