As of: January 28, 2024 12:00 a.m
The strike by the train drivers’ union GDL will end sooner than originally announced by the union. The background is new negotiations between Deutsche Bahn and the GDL.
According to railway spokeswoman Anja Bröker, the strike by train drivers in passenger transport is scheduled to end at 2 a.m. on Monday morning. The strike was originally scheduled to last until 6 p.m. on Monday. “Nevertheless, there will still be isolated restrictions in the long-distance transport offering over the course of Monday. There may also be regionally different restrictions in regional transport over the course of Monday,” the company announced on Saturday.
Peace obligation agreed until March 3rd
The railway spokeswoman said that the GDL had promised that there should be no further strikes for the time being – until March 3rd. Until then, the tariffs should continue to be negotiated behind closed doors. If necessary, two moderators could be brought in to provide support. The aim is to reach a collective agreement by the beginning of March. An extension of the duration of negotiations is also possible.
The freight transport strike also ends earlier than planned – this evening instead of Monday evening.
Wissing warns: work responsibly on a solution
Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) welcomed the resumption of collective bargaining and the early end of the strike. “I call on both collective bargaining parties to approach the talks with the necessary seriousness and to work responsibly on a solution,” he warned. The strikes of the past few days have been an enormous burden for rail passengers and companies.
Inflation compensation bonus of 1,500 euros has already been negotiated
The payment of a 1,500 euro inflation compensation bonus in March has already been agreed between Bahn and GDL. When asked about higher fees, the railway said it was willing to negotiate fixed amounts instead of just percentage increases. The issue of working hours, which is particularly important for the GDL, is also on the agenda for further negotiations. It was said that the railway was ready to talk about “models for reducing working hours” for shift workers. GDL boss Claus Weselsky said that “particularly DB’s willingness to negotiate to reduce working hours for shift workers” was “central to the agreement.”
This was apparently found in discussions between railway board member Martin Seiler and Weselsky as well as other participants last night in Dresden. The GDL announced a press conference for Monday morning in Berlin.
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Emergency timetable for long-distance and regional trains currently still applies
However, due to the nationwide strike, rail traffic in the north remains severely restricted. A DB emergency timetable for regional and long-distance transport still applies today. The train offering is very limited. The emergency timetables of Deutsche Bahn (DB) are on the Website bahn.de to view. Around 20 percent of regular trains are offered.
The train connection has currently been lifted: Tickets that have already been purchased can also be used later or canceled. This applies to all trips planned up to and including Monday, the railway confirmed on Saturday.
Lower Saxony: Many trains are canceled completely
In Lower Saxony, a number of regional connections are affected by the strike. Many trains are canceled completely, run less frequently than normal or only on partial routes. It ends here too Emergency timetable on Monday night. The trains of the Westfalenbahn, Metronom, Erixx, Enno and Transdev, which also includes the Hanover S-Bahn and the Nordwestbahn, will not be on strike. However, strikes at signal boxes, for example, can also lead to delays and cancellations there.
Meanwhile, the Metronom company announced that its customers would continue to have to prepare for train cancellations – regardless of the current strike. A new replacement timetable should apply until July 29th. The reason is a lack of staff. Metronom has had replacement timetables since August 2023.
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Schleswig-Holstein: Lübeck-Hamburg line every hour
In Schleswig-Holstein too, train lines will not be served or will only be served temporarily until Monday morning due to the GDL strike. On the other hand, the RE8 and RE80 will run every hour between Lübeck and Hamburg. The route between Westerland on Sylt and Hamburg-Altona runs every three hours. The Sylt Shuttle plus trains between Niebüll and Westerland are open to local transport passengers.
The Nordbahn and Erixx are not directly affected by the strike and are running as planned. Just like the AKN, which has already reached an agreement in the collective bargaining dispute with the GDL. However, there may still be restrictions in some cases.
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Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania: Numerous connections canceled
In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, numerous direct ICE connections were canceled on the Schwerin-Hamburg route during the strike. Regional trains, on the other hand, run at least according to the timetable app. There are failures on the S-Bahn between Rostock and the Baltic Sea resort of Warnemünde.
There should be no restrictions on the routes of Ostdeutsche Eisenbahn GmbH (Odeg), which is not affected by the GDL strike. However, disruptions and irregularities could still occur because Odeg uses the DB’s infrastructure, said a spokeswoman. In MV, the Odeg serves several routes, including the connection Rostock-Stralsund-Binz/Sassnitz and Wismar-Wittenberge-Berlin Hbf-BER Airport.
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Hamburg: S-Bahn traffic and airport affected
In Hamburg, the emergency timetable for the S-Bahn will apply until the end of the strike. For lines S1, S2 and S3, every 20 minutes is planned. The S5 between Neugraben and Stade should run every hour. Due to the unclear operational situation, the exact travel times can only be accessed at short notice. The Hamburg transport association asks passengers to use subways and buses if possible.
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Fourth strike in the ongoing collective bargaining dispute
The strike is the fourth in the ongoing collective bargaining dispute. Before the turn of the year, the GDL paralyzed large parts of passenger transport in two warning strikes A three-day strike followed in January with similar effects.
One presented on Friday last week The railway’s offer provided 4.8 percent more money for employees from August and a further five percent more from April 2025. In addition, the payment of an inflation compensation premium was planned immediately after a possible collective agreement. According to the DB offer, the term should be 32 months. The railway had also offered train drivers and train attendants to reduce their working hours from 38 to 37 hours with the same salary from January 1, 2026 – without reducing the hours, the railway offered them 2.7 percent more money. In total, the employees who stick with their current working hours would have received 13 percent more gross money with the offer than they do now.
The GDL rejected the offer as not negotiable. The union demanded 555 euros more per month as well as an inflation compensation bonus for a period of twelve months – but above all more movement on the issue of reducing working hours.
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