After the GDL warning strike, rail traffic in Germany is largely stable again. However, passengers today have to be prepared for full trains. According to the railway, individual deviations from the timetable are still possible.
After the end of the train drivers’ strike, train traffic at Deutsche Bahn is running again according to the regular timetable. The company announced this. With the start of operations early on Saturday morning, normal long-distance, regional and S-Bahn services were resumed.
However, there may still be isolated deviations in the daily routine. However, passengers would have to prepare for full trains for the entire weekend. The railway recommends that you continue to find out about your own connections before you start your journey.
The emergency timetable worked reliably during the strike from Thursday evening to Friday evening, the railway said. In long-distance transport, around a fifth of the ICE and IC trains ran, while the regional and S-Bahn services were significantly reduced. A backlog formed in freight traffic, which, according to the railway, will only be completely resolved in a few days.
Deutsche Bahn calls strike “completely unnecessary”
The GDL had a strike on passenger traffic for 24 hours and freight traffic for 28 hours. The railway called the strike completely unnecessary and a big challenge. The company was still struggling with the onset of winter, and there was also a timetable change on Sunday with numerous new connections.
Detlef Neuß, federal chairman of the Pro Bahn passenger association, criticized tagesschau24 the short notice of the strike. Commuters could no longer have adjusted to this. The anger among many rail customers is justified, said Neuß. “But we also have to take into account that the strain on railway employees is extremely high.”
Weselsky: Strikes are becoming longer and more intense
It is currently unclear how the collective bargaining dispute will continue. The GDL has called for a strike vote on indefinite strikes. The result is scheduled to be announced on December 19th. So far there are no new negotiation dates with the railway. At the end of November, the GDL declared the talks with the state-owned company to have failed.
The GDL does not want to go on strike over the Christmas period until January 7th. However, rail travelers could then face longer outages. GDL union leader Claus Weselsky already indicated that things would continue in January: After the strike break, “the strikes will be longer and more intense,” he told the Bavarian Radio.