The emergency timetable started as planned, the railway said. According to the company, around one in five trains is in use in long-distance transport, as in the previous industrial disputes by the GDL union. There are also extensive restrictions in regional transport. The company Transdev, which operates regional trains in the northwest and east, is also on strike.
The GDL’s industrial action in Deutsche Bahn’s freight traffic began on Tuesday evening. Until recently, the railways and Transdev had tried to legally prevent the strike. The Hesse State Labor Court finally rejected the application for an interim injunction in the second instance on Tuesday evening.
ÖBB trains are also affected
In the tariff dispute, the GDL has already called for warning strikes twice, which lasted a maximum of 24 hours in passenger transport. The current strike lasts until Friday, 6 p.m. In December, the union had its members vote on indefinite strikes. Around 97 percent of participants were in favor of this. Since then, longer strikes have been possible.
The strike does not affect ÖBB traffic via the Deutsche Eck, but the long-distance connections of Deutsche Bahn (DB) and ÖBB to Munich or even further north. Because trains that start or end in Germany only travel to the respective border station on the Austrian border or are canceled completely because the train drivers are swapped at the border. However, trains will sometimes be routed to Munich via the Brenner route, the ÖBB said.
ÖBB and DB have found a solution for the Salzburg-Munich route: their tickets are also valid for hourly local transport. Westbahn trains, on the other hand, travel to Munich because the train drivers are not changed at the border.
