NEW YORK — After four years of negotiations — and weeks of fretting by 300,000 daily riders about a possible strike — unions and management at the nation’s largest commuter railroad reached a tentative contract agreement Thursday.
The deal announced by Governor Andrew Cuomo, who personally got involved in the final hours of the negotiations, gives Long Island Rail Road workers a 17 percent pay raise over 6½ years but requires them to contribute to their health care costs for the first time.
Cuomo, who is running for a second term in November, hailed the deal as a compromise that protects workers and riders because it calls for no additional fare hikes.
‘‘There was a high degree of agita,’’ the governor said of nervousness over the negotiations. ‘‘The good news is there could have been a lot more agita next week’’ if there had been a strike.
Eight unions representing 5,400 Long Island Rail Road workers had threatened to walk off the job at 12:01 a.m. Sunday. The workers had been seeking a new deal since 2010.
Commuters at Penn Station expressed relief that they would not have to seek transportation alternatives.
‘‘I was really concerned,’’ Sibel Aras of Port Washington said. ‘‘It’s really good news. I’m happy for them. They deserve it.’’
According to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the LIRR’s parent organization, the typical salary for a Long Island Rail Road worker is $65,000, and with overtime annual earnings average $85,000.
‘‘Both sides have compromised to reach an agreement that gives our employees the raises they deserve while also providing for the MTA’s long-term financial stability,’’ said Thomas Prendergast, the MTA chairman.