GDL stops work stoppages
What the early end of the strike means for rail customers
January 28, 2024, 8:17 a.m
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Due to the early end of the train drivers’ strike, the railway has the hope that most of the rail traffic will be running as usual when operations start on Monday morning. However, there will likely still be some outages in both long-distance and regional transport, the company said. An overview of the most important questions from passengers:
When does the strike end?
The strike in passenger transport will end at 2 a.m. on Monday morning instead of Monday evening as originally planned. The railway wants to use the regular timetable for regional and long-distance transport again immediately after the end of the industrial dispute.
Will all trains be running as usual again from Monday morning?
It is likely that a large proportion of the trains will run. “From 2 a.m. on Monday, we will try to operate as normal a service as possible on long-distance transport. However, there will of course be occasional restrictions over the course of Monday,” said company spokeswoman Anja Bröker. In regional transport, Deutsche Bahn expects regional differences when restarting after the strike. “There will certainly still be a bit of jerking here and there on Monday,” said Bröker.
Do tickets for Monday now also have to be used on Monday?
No. The railway had lifted the train connection for tickets during the strike period so that passengers could flexibly postpone their trips and, if necessary, only make up for them after the strike. This offer remains in place despite the agreement between the railways and the German Locomotive Drivers’ Union (GDL) regarding the early end of the strike. “All passengers who would like to postpone their trip originally planned for Wednesday, January 24th, 2024 to Monday, January 29th, 2024 can continue to use their ticket at a later date,” the railway said. The train connection has been lifted.
Where can I find information about the timetable from Monday?
If you want to take the train on Monday, you should keep an eye on the timetable information on the train website or in the DB Navigator app. “It is now our turn to transfer all of our timetable information to the information media so that everyone knows what is possible on Monday,” said spokeswoman Bröker. In addition, thousands of train journeys and employee shifts would be replanned over the weekend so that the restart on Monday morning goes smoothly.
When is the next strike?
At least the next five weeks up to and including March 3rd are likely to remain without any further labor disputes at the railway. The group has agreed with the GDL to negotiate new collective agreements in camera from February 5th and, if necessary, with moderators. The aim is to reach a conclusion by the beginning of March, the railway said. If this succeeds, further strikes at Deutsche Bahn would be ruled out in the next few months.
And what if that doesn’t work?
Without an agreement, longer strikes are possible again at any time. Since the strike vote among the GDL members, union leader Claus Weselsky has been able to use this method at any time, provided that no labor court stops him. The union and the company have agreed that the negotiation period can be extended beyond March 3rd. If the negotiation offensive fails completely, the signs are likely to point to escalation and industrial action again.