Amtrak announced Wednesday it was suspending long-distance routes ahead of a Friday night deadline to avert a strike along the nation's freight rail lines.

Amtrak said in an emailed statement that it was taking the measure to avoid stranding passengers en route to their destinations. Much of Amtrak's long-distance service run on freight tracks.

The company had already suspended 10 of 15 routes when it made the announcement around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday that service on its five remaining long distance routes would be suspended.

It said most travel within the Amtrak-owned Northeast Corridor and related East Coast branch lines would not be affected, and that service on its Acela express line would continue to operate a full schedule.

Earlier Wednesday, Midwest commuter rail carrier Metra said there would be multiple Chicago-area routes canceled in advance of Friday's strike deadline. The cancellations will take effect late Thursday and affect 23 trains on the BNSF Railway, Union Pacific North, Union Pacific Northwest, and Union Pacific West lines.

A full list of affected Metra trains can be found here.

Negotiators from railroad carriers and unions met in Labor Secretary Marty Walsh’s office Wednesday as the sides tried to negotiate a deal ahead of Friday’s strike deadline, CNBC reported. The meeting started just after 9 a.m. ET, CNBC said and continued into midday, CNBC said.

“The parties are negotiating in good faith and have committed to staying at the table today,” a Labor Department representative told the network.