report
Anyone who has to travel by train needs strong nerves. You hear this sentence again and again these days. What is it like if you have to go from Cologne to Munich during the strike?
I haven’t seen so much of Germany in a long time. The ICE 2405 meanders leisurely along the Rhine from Cologne to Munich. We are somewhere behind Mainz. How did we get here? I have no idea, because we were still on the express route to Frankfurt, the route that the ICE always takes when there is no strike. Now it feels a bit like it used to be, when you were tired and stared at the TV at night and watched “The Most Beautiful Railway Routes in Germany”.
The train manager has now announced a delay of 95 minutes; recently there was talk of a delay of 40 minutes. Apparently the route was changed. I had never seen Darmstadt before on my trip to Munich; But it doesn’t really matter because we’re just driving through. The stop is canceled and the signal box is on strike.
A journey across the country: a bit like “the most beautiful railway routes in Germany”.
Trains are almost empty
I had been thinking for a long time about whether I should go on this trip. Warnings came from every radio, cell phone and television: “Nothing works on the train.” I carefully look on the internet. I can find four continuous connections from Cologne to Munich.
Completely surprisingly, the seat reservation can be opened and – even more surprisingly – the trains are almost empty. Was everyone really deterred? Now I’m motivated, reserve seats on three connections and pack my things. To be on the safe side, I take a lot of work with me, you never know.
At Cologne Central Station, reporter Jens Eberl is still excited to see what awaits him when he takes the train to Munich.
At the Cologne train station I see the pictures that are shown on television every day. Empty station hall, empty platforms. The scoreboard says my train is 18 minutes late. Next to the information point I am greeted with a coffee – this is how the train journey could always begin.
There’s a hot drink at the service point: the railway tries to appease its few customers with coffee.
Trains are often diverted
The train arrives on platform 6 earlier than announced. The cars are just as empty as the internet promised me. My seat is pretty much the only one reserved. On the journey I start talking to the people sitting next to me. A young couple from El Salvador sits diagonally opposite. The two took a three-month break. They actually wanted to travel from Cologne to Stuttgart a few days ago, but they had only found connections that required frequent changes. That was too risky for them. Today they try it.
Rafael Deras asks me what the farmers would gain if the railways went on strike. I first have to explain to him that one has nothing to do with the other and that we currently have several contentious issues in Germany. Then he tells me how beautiful Germany is – and the people are so friendly. He was a little surprised about the route the train took, which was unusual for Germany.
Rafael Deras and Gabriela Mozo learn a lot about Germany on their train journey.
Panoramic tour through Germany
But that’s only because of the strike. As we learned from the on-board announcement, the train had to take many detours to avoid signal boxes that were on strike.
The monitor, which normally shows the distance, is now overwhelmed and only a white image can be seen. Thanks to the strike, Rafael Deras and his girlfriend Gabriela Mozo get a panoramic tour of Germany. But it was quite expensive for both of them. For the past few weeks they have been traveling around the country with the Deutschlandticket. Now they have to pay almost 150 euros per person for the one-way trip to Stuttgart.
The scoreboard in the ICE does the same as the GDL – it goes on strike.
A couple from Bobingen is sitting two seats away. The two of them went to Cologne with their son’s family last Saturday to end their vacation. Now they have to come back somehow. “The day before yesterday I looked to see which trains were still running, ours had been cancelled. Instead of 9.28 a.m. the departure is now at 10.55 a.m. But that doesn’t matter to me,” says Hans Hackl. His wife Anneliese added: “I was a little worried that the train would be overcrowded. When I got on, I was surprised at how empty it was.” On the way there it was significantly more crowded.
Fortunately, Anneliese and Hans Hackl are in no hurry to get from Cologne to Bobingen.
The main thing is to arrive
The train now stops more and more frequently. It takes more than half an hour between Darmstadt and Ludwigshafen. But this time the strike is not to blame. According to the on-board announcement, there are people on the track. The delay is now 105 minutes.
“I’m surprised that we’re constantly going backwards and forwards. I feel like I’m on a slow train,” says Anneliese Hackl. Her husband is happy to have taken an early train. “I just want to get there today, the rest isn’t that important,” he says with a smile. From Augsburg to Bobingen the two change to a private company train. “There won’t be a strike, it’ll work,” Hans Hackl is convinced.
The train is empty – and ultimately reaches its destination an hour and a half late.
In case of delay: money back
The couple from El Salvador did it. We arrived in Stuttgart. When I get out, I point out to them that they will get their money back if they are late. 25 percent if it is more than 60 minutes. They thank me and promise to drink a beer for me.
Good idea, I think to myself and go to the on-board bistro. But my beer remains a wish for now. Unfortunately the on-board bistro has now closed. Strike! At least there are tetra packs of water next to the counter. And I finally made it to Munich 90 minutes late. The beer tastes better here anyway.