Biden administration officials huddled Wednesday with union and freight-rail company representatives trying to avert a strike that threatens to shut down a crucial vein of the U.S. economy and put fresh pressure on prices when inflation is hovering near four-decade highs.

As negotiations between the railroads and labor unions approach a Friday deadline, passenger-rail provider Amtrak said it would suspend all long-distance train services starting Thursday to avoid disruptions caused by a potential strike by freight workers. While the negotiations don’t involve Amtrak workers, Amtrak’s long-distance trains operate on freight lines, and the company said it wanted to avoid passenger disruptions in the event of a strike.