Metro and its largest union have reached an agreement on a four-year contract that will head off some privatization efforts.

The tentative agreement jointly announced late Tuesday comes well ahead of the expiration of the current deal on June 30.

The agreement still must get formal approval from the union members and Metro Board.

As part of the deal, Metro has agreed not to contract out Silver Line operations to Dulles International Airport and Loudoun County, Virginia, and has agreed to “create a path” toward ending contracting at the Cinder Bed Road garage in Lorton, Virginia, where workers have been on strike for seven weeks.

Ending Metro’s efforts to privatize Silver Line operations and the work at Cinder Bed Road were key demands of the strike.

Financial details of the deal were not immediately released in order to provide time for workers and the Metro Board to be briefed.