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Germany’s train services halted in longest strike yet

Train drivers in Germany on Wednesday began their longest strike yet in an ongoing labor dispute with Deutsche Bahn (DB) that is set to impact thousands of passengers and could dent the economy with a loss of up to €1 billion ($1.1 billion).

On Monday, the German Train Drivers’ Union (GDL) had called for a six-day strike. The planned industrial action will run from 2:00 a.m. local time (0100 GMT) Wednesday until 6 p.m. on Monday for passenger traffic. The strike for freight trains began a day earlier.

German train strike begins, DB implements provisional timetable
Deutsche Bahn confirmed on Wednesday morning that its provisional emergency timetable was in operation, with only one in five long-distance trains running.

It has advised passengers to double-check in advance whether their connection is still running, to book seat reservations to guarantee a place but to consider rebooking their journey if it’s not absolutely necessary. During the strike, tickets for specific trains can be used on other services.

German rail begins six-day strike

02:00
The effect of the strike on local services varies from region to region, with many regional, urban and suburban services operated at least partially by private companies such as National Express or Eurobahn.

In the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia, for instance, just over half (42) of regional services were running as normal while 41 services were affected by strike action. However, even unaffected services could be impacted by strike action affecting DB infrastructure.

In Hamburg, traffic coordinators reported an increase in motorway traffic jams as morning commuters took the Autobahn. The evening commute home could also be additionally affected by a planned farmers’ protest, with around 100 tractors expected to parade into the city center ahead of a demonstration at 7 p.m. local time.

Despite fears of a knock-on effect on other areas of the economy, Hamburg harbor and logistics operators reported no significant restrictions at container terminals as a result of the freight train strike.

Traffic on the motorway in MunichTraffic on the motorway in Munich
With railway workers on strike, many travelers have reverted to their cars, leading to congestion – such as here in Munich.Image: Matthias Balk/dpa/picture-alliance
Renewed criticism from politicians
Nevertheless, the pressure on the GDL is growing, with politicians from the conservative opposition CDU/CSU calling for stricter laws to make future strikes on this scale more difficult.

“The most important thing when it comes to critical infrastructure is that an arbitration process must first be completed before going on stike,” CDU lawmaker Gitta Connemann told Deutschlandfunk radio, rather than the other way around.

She received backing from Martin Huber, general secretary of the CDU’s Bavarian sister party, the CSU, who demanded “an appropriate deadline for strikes.”

The unprecedented six-day strike has also drawn criticism from other parts of the railway industry, with the “Pro Rail Alliance” distancing itself from the industrial action and saying it could put-off many passengers from traveling by rail in the future. Alliance chief executive Dirk Flege called for “both rhetoric and actions” to be toned down.

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