“All wheels stand still when your strong arm wants it,” goes a line in a well-known workers’ song. Even if such songs are characterized by pathos and folklore, Claus Weselsky, who leads the almost 40,000 workers of the German Train Drivers’ Union (GDL), can definitely claim the song’s lines as his own.
In the coming days, almost all wheels at Deutsche Bahn will actually come to a standstill. The freight transport strike begins this Tuesday at 6 p.m. Passenger trains will be on strike from 2 a.m. on Wednesday morning.
How long does the strike last and what is it about?
It is the longest strike in the history of Deutsche Bahn: a full six days, i.e. 144 hours, in freight transport and five days and 16 hours in passenger transport.
555 euros more wages, 2,850 euros inflation compensation, 35 instead of the previous 38 hours for shift workers with full wage compensation and the whole thing in a collective agreement lasting twelve months, these are the demands of the GDL. In its last offer, Deutsche Bahn responded to the demand for a reduction in working hours for the first time and also offered an inflation bonus and a salary increase, but there is still a wide gap between the offer and the demand. The fronts between the negotiators have hardened enormously. DB’s offer is “not a basis for negotiations,” says GDL boss Weselsky.
How many trains will be canceled?
When the railway went on strike in December and early January, around 80 percent of long-distance and regional connections. On many S-Bahn trains in metropolitan areas, only a poor emergency program could be implemented at best. Experts expect that Deutsche Bahn will find it difficult to keep 20 percent of its trains running over the entire duration of the strike.
Which trains are running and which are not can be found in the connection information on the DB website and about the DB Navigator app be clear. “We are currently in the process of incorporating the emergency timetable into all of our information systems,” said a railway spokeswoman on Tuesday morning.
What are the restrictions in the individual regions?
Bavaria: The good news: The GDL’s strike call does not apply to almost all transport providers that are not called Deutsche Bahn. The Bavarian Regiobahn, the provider Go-Ahead, Agilis, Alex, Oberpfalzbahn and Waldbahn operate largely regularly. Problems can arise where dispatchers who belong to the GDL go on strike. However, the connections offered by DB Regio are on strike; A very incomplete emergency timetable applies here. Many regional trains will only run every two, sometimes even every four hours, and in some cases they will have to be canceled completely. The S-Bahn in Munich and Nuremberg tries to maintain a frequency of approximately one hour.
Berlin/Brandenburg: The Berlin subway is not affected by the strike, but the vast majority of S-Bahn trains in and around Berlin are not running, such as the important S41/S42 ring line. On individual lines, such as the one to BER Airport, an emergency timetable should ensure a 20-minute frequency. Individual trains will run on important regional connections, such as between Berlin and Cottbus. Other regional services are being replaced by individual buses or have to be discontinued completely.
Hamburg/Schleswig-Holstein: Most of Deutsche Bahn’s regional trains will not run. The railway companies AKN, Erixx and Metronom are not on strike, but the effects of the strike, such as a lack of staff in signal boxes, can also affect them. While the Hamburger Hochbahn and the buses in the Hanseatic city run regularly, there will be massive restrictions on S-Bahn traffic. However, as was the case around two weeks ago, the S-Bahn wants to try to offer trips on lines S1, S2, S3 and S5 according to an emergency timetable.
Lower Saxony/Bremen: Here too, only those services offered by Deutsche Bahn are affected. Isolated trains are often planned on the DB routes, for example between Bremen and Hanover and between Bremerhaven and Osnabrück. Between Cuxhaven and Hamburg there should be a three-hourly service, and on other regional connections sometimes even a two-hour service. On other, slightly less frequented connections, such as between Bremen and Uelzen and between Hanover and Hamburg via Soltau, replacement bus services are to be set up.
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania: Individual trains run on some regional transport lines, for example between Hamburg and Rostock or between Berlin and Stralsund. In some cases, buses are provided as replacements. Some lines, such as the regional express between Lübeck and Stettin, have to be canceled without replacement.
North Rhine-Westphalia: There should be at least 40 regional express and regional train connections according to the Zuginfo-NRW website There are no restrictions because DB’s competitors operate here. However, on a further 30 RE and RB lines, those served by Deutsche Bahn, there will be no service at all or only very irregularly during the strike (Here is an overview of the DB). An alternative bus service is only offered sporadically. On the S-Bahn, some lines have significantly reduced their frequency, others are canceled completely.
Hesse: Many DB regional express and regional train connections are being discontinued or only run every two hours. The connections of DB’s competitors Cantus, Hessische Landesbahn, Vias and Vlexx are running normally.
Thuringia/Saxony/Saxony-Anhalt: Deutsche Bahn wants to maintain a minimum offer in these federal states. For example, the RE 50 will run between Leipzig and Dresden every two to three hours. The RE connections between Glauchau and Göttingen, Erfurt and Nordhausen as well as Erfurt and Leinefelde should also be operated every two hours. Many regional trains in the Dresden area are canceled and the S-Bahn trains there only run irregularly. The important S3 between Halle and Leipzig should at least be served every hour. In Saxony-Anhalt, many regional routes only run every four hours; elsewhere, replacement buses also only run every four hours. The Mitteldeutsche Regiobahn, which, for example, offers the RE between Leipzig and Chemnitz and between Dresden and Hof, is not affected by the strike.
Baden-Württemberg: Regional trains operated by Go-Ahead, SWEG and WEG will not be on strike. Local urban transport that is not offered by the DB, such as the Stadtbahn in Stuttgart, also runs regularly. However, there are significant problems in DB’s regional transport. There are no trains running on many lines here or there are only very limited services.
Rhineland-Palatinate/Saarland/Rhine-Neckar: The S-Bahn in the greater region around Mannheim, Heidelberg and Ludwigshafen are either completely canceled or are only served every two hours. The emergency plan also provides for two-hourly intervals on many connections. However, certain sections are often not served. Some RE and RB connections also have to be eliminated completely. However, individual routes, such as those between Trier and Homburg in Saarland, should largely be served regularly once an hour.