Train drivers’ warning strike – rail strike in Germany ended: train traffic starts again – News

  • The strike by the German Locomotive Drivers’ Union GDL at Deutsche Bahn ended on Friday evening.
  • It had a strike on passenger traffic for 24 hours and freight traffic for 28 hours – with effects as far away as Switzerland.
  • Despite the strikers, the effects are likely to still be felt in the hours afterwards.

As a result of the strike, thousands of trains were canceled in Germany and a long backlog formed in freight transport. “Even after 10 p.m., long-distance and regional traffic will run according to the emergency timetable,” said the train drivers’ union GDL.

Deutsche Bahn wants to bring normal passenger transport services back onto the rails on Saturday, the day after the warning strike by the train drivers’ union GDL. The federally owned company announced this online. “Individual, few canceled trains as a result of the GDL strike are possible, especially during the morning start-up,” it said.

In long-distance transport, the railway put around 20 percent of the program on track according to an emergency timetable. The situation in regional transport was very different. In some regions there were hardly any trains, in others there were only a few lines. Replacement buses were also used during the 24-hour warning strike.

SBB advised against traveling to Germany


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The SBB had previously advised against traveling to Germany from Thursday to Friday evening. Tickets would remain valid. Affected trains would only run within Switzerland and would be canceled from or to the border, the SBB media office said at the request of Keystone-SDA. The canceled cross-border trains were therefore replaced within Switzerland.

GDL boss confident of victory

It was the second industrial dispute in the ongoing collective bargaining dispute between the railways and the GDL. The Transdev company was also on strike, and here too there is currently no progress in the collective bargaining dispute. On Friday, union boss Claus Weselsky said he was confident that the warning strike would be able to enforce the demands of the railway board.

The effects on freight transport were also serious, with train drivers stopping work for 28 hours. The railway announced on Thursday that around 170 freight trains had already backed up in Bavaria due to the winter chaos. “It is feared that this number will double,” said a spokesman.

Progress of negotiations remains unclear


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If you count the industrial action by the larger railway and transport union (EVG) in the first half of the year, this is the fourth warning strike this year that has led to far-reaching restrictions for passengers. There is already a deal with the EVG. The GDL, in turn, declared the collective bargaining negotiations with Deutsche Bahn to have failed around two weeks ago. It is unclear when and how we will speak to each other again.

The crux of the negotiations is primarily the GDL’s demand to reduce working hours for shift workers from 38 to 35 hours. Deutsche Bahn fundamentally rejects this and points out that it would then need ten percent more staff in the relevant professions. In addition, the union is demanding, among other things, 555 euros more per month and an inflation compensation bonus. The railway has already promised, among other things, eleven percent more, with a term of 32 months.

While Weselsky appeared confident of victory, according to a survey by the Yougov Institute, many people in Germany were annoyed by the renewed warning strike. Almost 60 percent of those surveyed said they had no understanding of the GDL’s strike. 30 percent, however, expressed understanding for the industrial dispute.

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