As of: March 12, 2024 1:17 p.m
The GDL train drivers’ strike in passenger transport began at 2 a.m. as planned. Deutsche Bahn tried in vain to stop the 24-hour strike through court. Northern Germany is also affected.
Passengers must once again expect major restrictions throughout the day. This time too there is an emergency timetable that is available via the Deutsche Bahn website can be accessed via the normal connection search. “We have managed to offer a basic service of around 20 percent of the usual timetable in long-distance transport despite the GDL’s short-term strike announcement,” said a railway spokeswoman in the morning. In regional transport, the offer varies depending on the region. The freight transport strike has been going on since yesterday at 6 p.m. “We will return to normal operations very quickly tomorrow, Wednesday, and offer the full program for our passengers in passenger transport again,” said railway spokesman Achim Stauß.
Appeal hearing at noon
The Frankfurt Labor Court rejected an interim injunction against the strike call on Monday evening. The judge said the strike was not disproportionate. The railway appealed against the decision. “The strike announcement is far too short-term. There are also unlawful demands,” said Florian Weh, general manager of the rail employers’ association AGV Move. The responsible Hesse State Labor Court is due to decide on the appeal this afternoon.
Hamburg: S-Bahn trains every 20 minutes
In Hamburg, the S-Bahn operated by DB organizes emergency operations every 20 minutes for lines S1, S2 and S3. On the S5 section Stade-Buxtehude-Neugraben there is one trip per hour. Hourly trains to Lübeck are also planned for regional transport. The route to Kiel can only be operated every two hours.
Schleswig-Holstein: Sylt trains are canceled due to construction work
Other routes in Schleswig-Holstein are also affected by the strike. In addition, due to signal box work at Westerland train station, there will be no car trains to Sylt until Thursday and the regular regional trains will be replaced by buses. Private railways such as Metronom or Nordbahn are not on strike.
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania: Limited regional train traffic
In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, only individual regional trains run on numerous connections; some lines are canceled without replacement, such as the RE4, RB23, RB24, RB25 or the S-Bahn lines S1 and S3. A replacement bus service has also been set up on lines RE3, RE5 and S2. According to company information, there is no strike at Ostdeutsche Eisenbahn GmbH (ODEG). However, there could be disruptions and irregularities in operations on all lines.
Lower Saxony: Hanover S-Bahn runs as scheduled
In Lower Saxony, the trains of the private companies metronom, enno, erixx, and WestfalenBahn as well as the S-Bahn traffic in the city and region of Hanover are not affected by the strike. The Nordwestbahn trains also run regularly. Deutsche Bahn’s long-distance and regional transport connections are only being maintained to a limited extent. According to the DB, only a few trains ran on the RE 1 Norddeich-Bremen-Hannover regional express routes, as well as on the RE 5 Cuxhaven-Hamburg and RE 9 Osnabrück-Bremen-Bremerhaven routes. According to the DB, all trains on the RE 8 Bremerhaven-Hannover route were canceled.
Further information
Deutsche Bahn is canceling train connections again
As with previous strikes, Deutsche Bahn is offering passengers the opportunity to postpone their trip that was affected by the strike free of charge. The train connection has been lifted. A ticket refund is also possible under the appropriate conditions.
This week will be particularly difficult for many travelers: At Lufthansa, 19,000 flight attendants from Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cityline have been called on strike today and tomorrow. The focus is on the airports in Frankfurt and Munich, but this also has an impact on departures and landings in the north.
Further information
Economic expert: “Impertinence that causes harm”
“It is an imposition that, above all, causes economic damage,” said Marcel, President of the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW). Fratzscher, on Tuesday on NDR Info. If there is a strike, the economy can usually cope with it quite well. But if strikes become more frequent, especially with short lead times, many companies would not be able to prepare for them. People were missing from work and goods could not be transported. According to Fratzscher, this is not without consequences: “We are increasingly talking about economic damage, which is also noticeable.” That’s why he no longer considers this strike to be proportionate, especially economically, given the shrinking German economy.
Against the background of the messy situation in the collective bargaining dispute between Deutsche Bahn and GDL, Fratzscher spoke of a “blackmail method”. Because the railway is critical infrastructure. “And that gives the union such power.” There should be arbitration, which both parties would then have to adhere to. In Fratzscher’s opinion, the right to strike should be adjusted accordingly. “Arbitration means: Both sides have to make concessions,” said Fratzscher.
Mediators had made a compromise proposal
The collective bargaining negotiations between GDL and Deutsche Bahn had so far failed due to the union’s demand for a reduction in weekly working hours for shift workers from 38 to 35 hours without financial losses. The railway rejects this. The moderators involved, Schleswig-Holstein’s Prime Minister Daniel Günther and the former Federal Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière (both CDU), had made a proposal for an agreement. The weekly working hours for shift workers should therefore be reduced in two stages from the current 38 to 36 hours – without any loss of wages. However, no agreement was reached.
Further information
