German rail freight transport has been on strike since Tuesday evening. Passenger train drivers will also stop work from 2 a.m. on Wednesday. The strike will last until Friday at 6 p.m.
The strike was called by the train drivers’ union (GDL) due to a long-standing conflict with railway company Deutsche Bahn over higher wages and shorter working weeks. On Monday, Deutsche Bahn tried to stop the strike at a labor court in Frankfurt on the grounds that it was illegal. That request was rejected. An appeal was also rejected on Tuesday evening.
The GDL had already announced its intention to start the strike before the ruling on the appeal. As a railway spokesperson confirmed on Tuesday evening, the first drivers stopped work at 6 p.m. Deutsche Bahn calls on the union for new negotiations to reach a compromise.
Emergency timetable
Since the start of the negotiations in early November, GDL has stopped trains twice with national strikes. Both times, international train traffic was also seriously disrupted.
Deutsche Bahn fears that millions of travelers will again be affected by the strike. The company has set up an emergency timetable and there is a special number to call for information about which trains are cancelled. Travelers have also been asked to refrain from traveling by train as much as possible.
NMBS advises passengers who have booked a trip to or through Germany to consult the Deutsche Bahn website for the state of affairs on the track.
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