Deutsche Bahn (DB) expects the announced strike by the train drivers’ union GDL to cause severe disruption to rail traffic in the greater Munich area. The emergency timetable will only ensure a very limited range of trains in DB’s long-distance, regional and S-Bahn services, the state-owned company announced on its website on Monday. The Munich S-Bahn appealed to passengers to refrain from traveling or to postpone them during the GDL strike. The Munich Transport Company (MVG) is not affected by the industrial dispute.
The strike lasts from 2 a.m. Wednesday, January 24th to 6 p.m. on Monday, January 29th. Passengers of regional and long-distance trains who would like to postpone their trip planned for January 24th to 29th due to the GDL strike can use their ticket at a later date; the train connection has been cancelled. Seat reservations can be canceled free of charge. Passengers also have the option of bringing their trip forward and traveling on January 22nd or 23rd. Deutsche Bahn is currently working on emergency timetables. The Munich S-Bahn assumes that there will be the first disruptions from Tuesday evening. The plan is then to offer at least one hourly service on all S-Bahn lines.
International rail traffic is also likely to suffer. The Austrian Federal Railways warned on its website that no cross-border trains would likely run to and from Germany during the strike.
As with the recent strikes, Westbahn customers do not have to fear any restrictions. The provider Go-Ahead is also not directly affected by the strike. However, train cancellations and delays can occur if, for example, there is a strike on DB Netz’s infrastructure facilities, or if train drivers do not arrive at their place of work on time on their way to work due to a strike on connections.
S-Bahn traffic is also being restricted by work at the Ostbahnhof, where the new electronic signal box is being installed. Until March 14th, there will be diversions, stop cancellations and rail replacement services between Ostbahnhof and Pasing on the nights from Monday to Tuesday to Thursday to Friday – from 9.30 p.m. to 4.40 a.m. Next Saturday and Sunday we will work from 4 a.m. to 4 p.m. Information is available at s-bahn-muenchen.de/baustellen.