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.
FAZ.NET has put together important information for travelers whose train is canceled.
The strike is scheduled until 2:00 a.m. on Friday morning.
"Whether we will continue 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. Allegations that the strike was only on Tuesday morning and therefore too short-term "You know there is no good time to have a labor dispute in a railroad system."
Strike announced “early enough”
The times were announced "early enough," said Weselsky. It was clear that there would be an increased frequency of travel next weekend due to the end of holidays. The union then decided to go on strike in passenger traffic from Wednesday to Friday morning Freight traffic has been on strike since Tuesday evening.
Weselsky justified the strike by stating that the offer of the railway in the collective bargaining was unacceptable from the point of view of the GDL. The GDL will only return to the negotiating table when the railway makes an improved offer. Personnel director Martin Seiler “lies to the public, lies to the railway workers, and pretends to have been bringing new and improved offers over and over again since June. That is not the case, "said Weselsky. Because a dispute always involves two, the rail company is ultimately responsible for" that the dispute is now taking place on the back of travelers. "
Bahn personnel director Martin Seiler, however, criticized the strike as "completely inadequate and excessive". At the same time he was ready to negotiate. "The question now is
how we can get out of this difficult crisis together," he said on the same program. "We too want our employees to be paid sensibly." The train offer is reasonable.
There were initially no reports of chaos at train stations, despite the sometimes massive restrictions. Many commuters were obviously prepared for the situation. "I drove an extra two hours earlier, with a different provider," said a woman commuter in Düsseldorf. Other modes of transport also experienced increased demand. Because of the rush of passengers, Lufthansa uses larger types of aircraft on its domestic German flights up to and including Friday, as a spokeswoman reported on Wednesday. Airbus A321s are now increasingly on the 70 to 80 flights per day, with up to 215 seats, the largest type in the manufacturer's medium-haul fleet. However, no additional aircraft have been reactivated.
The long-distance bus provider Flixbus recorded a 70 percent increase in demand compared to the previous week. The long-distance trains of the Flixtrain brand would also be booked around 30 percent more than last week. According to the Flixbus control center, the strike was barely noticeable on the streets on Wednesday morning. Buses and trains are on schedule and on time.