Because of the strikes by the train drivers, many passengers are switching to alternatives: car rental companies, long-distance bus operators and Lufthansa reported a significant increase in demand on Wednesday: According to the comparison portal Check 24, bookings for rental cars rose significantly after the strike was announced on Tuesday. On this day alone, around 74 percent more rental cars were booked nationwide than on the same day a week earlier. In the metropolises of Berlin and Hamburg, bookings more than doubled. Due to the rush of passengers, Deutsche Lufthansa is using larger aircraft on its domestic German flights until Friday. However, no additional aircraft have been reactivated. Significantly more trips were also booked with the long-distance bus provider Flixbus: 70 percent more compared to the previous week,Flixtrain's long-distance trains are also booked by around 30 percent more than the week before.

Helmut Bünder

Business correspondent in Düsseldorf.

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Stephan Finsterbusch

Editor in business.

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Carsten Germis

Business correspondent in Hamburg.

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Christian Müßgens

Business correspondent in Hamburg.

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Tillmann Neuscheler

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Susanne Preuss

Business correspondent in Stuttgart.

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The rail strike is also affecting freight transport - and this is putting the supply chains of many companies under further pressure, as they primarily allow important intermediate products such as chemicals to be delivered by rail.

According to estimates by the Federal Association of Freight Forwarding and Logistics (DSLV), more than 200 freight trains were at a standstill on Wednesday.

Most of them are from DB Cargo, whose striking locomotive drivers have parked the trains in some targeted manner to block routes, it said.

According to its own statements, the railway has ensured that “supply-relevant trains” still run.

"These are economically important trains that supply power plants and large industrial companies," it said in Berlin.

DB Cargo also works with other railway companies to ensure the transports.

Deutsche Bahn warns that the strike could have "massive effects on supply chains" in the industry.

IW: Damage of up to 100 million euros a day

Freight forwarders are also feeling the impact of the strike with force, such as the transport company Hellmann from Osnabrück: "In Germany we transport up to 200 truckloads by rail every day," said the responsible manager Jörg Herwig of the FAZ. "We now have to do this at short notice onto the road, which also leads to significantly higher CO2 emissions. "Hellmann transports many time-critical goods, such as production material for car manufacturers:" If these goods do not arrive at the factories on time, this can lead to production delays or even stoppages. " said Herwig. The potential economic consequences of the GDL strike should therefore not be underestimated.

According to the Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft (IW), companies could suffer damage of up to 100 million euros every day.

This is shown by the experience from previous strikes.

In particular, if the dispatchers took part in the strike to a large extent, the bill could be expensive.

The chemical and steel industries in particular could be affected.

The chemical industry is partially obliged by law to use the rail for transport.

The steel industry is also heavily dependent on rail transport.

Volkswagen and Daimler have hardly been affected so far

So far, the steel maker ThyssenKrupp has kept a low profile. The railroad is an "indispensable component" for the transport of goods. Individual transports are also affected. But concrete details cannot yet be derived. The car manufacturers Volkswagen and Daimler are also calm. In Wolfsburg, factory holidays are just now, in Stuttgart no direct effects on production are foreseeable, they both say. For the next few days, VW have at least "taken protective measures".