Travelers had little time to prepare before the strike. By late Tuesday afternoon, Deutsche Bahn withdrew regional trains from service. The official start of the strike was announced for Wednesday at 2 a.m. It should end after 48 hours – that is, on Friday at 2 a.m.
The extremely short-term announcement ensured that travelers switched to panic mode in the event of delays because connecting trains generally did not wait at the tracks. The GDL’s promise to give travelers enough time was therefore not kept.
Despite the rail strike, you reach your destination flexibly, on time and cheaply
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But even after the end of the first strike phase, it can take days before all trains are at the departure stations. “It will probably take until Saturday before all trains can leave normally,” says a railway employee. The background to this is that many trains currently do not run at all and therefore cannot leave their planned starting point.
An employee on the strike hotline also confirmed the possible aftermath that such a strike entails. Travelers should definitely look at the current travel plan. Overall, the group is accommodating and offers travelers flexible travel options.
How do I find out if trains run on weekends?
The Deutsche Bahn about “bahn.de/aktuell“, There is also information about the app (the download is available here) and via the strike hotline 08000 99 66 33.
What’s next week
Travelers are also currently in a waiting position. At the press conference, GDL boss Claus Weselsky announced further strike measures should the railway not respond to the union’s wishes. In the next two weeks, the federal states of Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland will be leaving the summer holidays.
Travelers take a long breath – and should be looking for alternatives now. Possible option: return by plane, bus or car. If you are planning a train journey, you should check direct connections and make sure to use long transfer times (at least 30 minutes) when changing.
Until when can I use tickets flexibly?
If your chosen train was delayed by more than 60 minutes due to the strike or even canceled completely, the statutory passenger rights apply. In this case, you can apply for compensation. Incidentally, this also applies at the weekend, when the strike is long over.
If you bought your ticket online via your customer account with Deutsche Bahn, you can submit your claims directly using the online application in your customer account. This is possible both on bahn.de and in the “DB Navigator” app.
All tickets already booked for routes that will be affected by the GDL strike from August 11th to August 13th will remain valid and every rail customer affected can use the tickets flexibly up to and including August 20th.
Which rail providers operate despite a strike?
The entire local and long-distance transport of Deutsche Bahn is affected by the GDL strike.
Trains from private providers such as the Bayerische Oberlandbahn, Flixtrain, Vlexx, SBB Germany, Benex, Keolis, AKN Eisenbahn, alex, oberpfalzbahn, trilex, vogtlandbahn, waldbahn or the MittelrheinBahn in Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia are not on strike.
As FOCUS Online learned, the reservations with these providers have increased sharply since yesterday.
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In the middle of the Corona crisis there is a strike – travelers need to know that
In the aisles and on the platforms, replacement trains and alternative bus routes could get busier than usual. Travelers should definitely bear this in mind.
If possible, keep your distance and wear an FFP2 mask. Take several protective masks with you on longer train and bus journeys, which you can replace at regular intervals. It is also helpful to have disinfectant with you if you want to go to the train toilets, for example.
If you have to go to the hotel, you should know: In Bavaria, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Lower Saxony, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, Saxony-Anhalt and Schleswig-Holstein, unvaccinated hotel guests need a negative antigen rapid test on arrival. In North Rhine-Westphalia, this applies to districts with a 7-day incidence of 10 or more.
If you are traveling with children, it would be advisable to either completely cancel the trip on the day of the strike, to switch to other means of transport or to change the trip completely.