The strike of the train drivers' union GDL paralyzes train traffic in Germany.

"According to our observation, the strike is effective nationwide," said railway spokesman Achim Stauß on Wednesday morning.

The railway is trying to get a quarter of the IC and ICEs on the rails in long-distance traffic and to ensure at least a two-hour cycle between the large metropolises.

In regional and local transport, the railway wants to offer a reliable basic offer, which will, however, vary regionally depending on the intensity of the strike.

"We are doing our best to get people to their destination today," said Stauß.

At the same time, he called on travelers to postpone unnecessary trips.

Already in the morning there were train cancellations in many regions of Germany.

In Hesse, commuters “have to be prepared for massive waiting times,” said a railway spokeswoman.

The replacement schedule has started, but the train traffic is severely impaired.

In regional traffic, there should be hourly to two-hour offers.

Because of the strike, there would be no trains anywhere on the lines.

Numerous trains were canceled on the display boards at Frankfurt Central Station, but passengers were still busy in the morning.

S-Bahn also affected

In the Rhine-Main area, numerous S-Bahn lines are also affected by the strike, which only run every 60 minutes.

This applied, among other things, to connections from Darmstadt to Bad Soden or from Frankfurt to Friedberg.

In some cases, a bus replacement service was set up on parts of the routes.

The railway advised: "Please also include underground, tram, bus and express bus connections in the city centers in order to reach your destination or to use connections from other nearby train stations."

FAZ.NET has put together important information for travelers whose train is canceled.

The effects of the strike were also evident in North Rhine-Westphalia on Wednesday morning. As a spokesman for the railway announced, the operation has been switched to an emergency timetable in long-distance and local transport. 25 percent of long-distance journeys are attempted to be maintained. In local transport, however, there could also be short-term failures in the emergency timetable. Although the focus of the strike is more in eastern Germany, the situation on Wednesday morning was also tense in Cologne. According to the railway, travelers have to be prepared for short-term cancellations and sometimes longer delays.

In Saxony-Anhalt, regional traffic in particular is severely affected.

Here there are disruptions on the lines of various regional trains.

Many S-Bahn and regional trains are also canceled in Saxony.

Similar reports came from Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, although there are apparently some significant differences in regional traffic.

Because competitors of Deutsche Bahn are not on strike, private railways are on many routes in regional transport in Bavaria, for example.

How the wage dispute will continue is open.

According to its own statements, the GDL wants to mark its further course in the labor dispute with Deutsche Bahn next week.

"Whether we will go on strike and when, we will not decide on Friday morning when we go out of the strike, but we will decide next week," said GDL boss Claus Weselsky on ZDF.

The railway called on the union to return to the negotiating table.

"We were already relatively close to each other when it came to wage increases," said Stauß.

The dispute over the duration of a collective agreement can be resolved in negotiations.

When asked whether Deutsche Bahn would submit a new offer, Stauß said: "Now the first thing to do is manage the strike." Weselsky said that the GDL would only return to the negotiating table when Deutsche Bahn made an improved offer .

After the failed collective bargaining negotiations, the GDL wants to strike nationwide passenger and freight traffic until Friday morning.