In the wage dispute in the railway sector, the railway union (EVG) called a strike in long-distance and regional transport for Friday, between 3 am and 11 am. The Verdi union had previously announced shutdowns at Düsseldorf, Cologne/Bonn and Hamburg airports for Thursday and Friday.
Especially Deutsches Eck affected
According to ÖBB, the rail strike in Germany will also have massive effects in Austria, trains to and from Germany will either be short-distance or cancelled. All train connections via Deutsches Eck are also affected.
Night train connections to and from Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands are already affected from the night of April 20 to April 21. Travelers should find out more about their planned connections from the ÖBB Scotty timetable information, the ÖBB app or by calling ÖBB customer service at 05-1717-0.
Local trains terminate at Lochau-Hörbranz
Trains in local traffic to, from and via Germany will be short, according to the ÖBB. In Vorarlberg, trains in the direction of Lindau-Reutin will terminate at Lochau-Hörbranz, and in Tyrol, local transport in the direction of Mittenwald will only run to/from Scharnitz. According to ÖBB, rail replacement buses may be made available for some of the short connections.
Long-distance traffic to Switzerland: Start at St. Margrethen
In long-distance transport, there will be changes to several connections to, from and via Germany during the strike period and also in the hours after, according to the ÖBB. Due to scheduled construction work on the Deutsches Eck between Salzburg and Kufstein, Railjet trains with destination stations Innsbruck, Bregenz, Zurich and Bolzano will be operated with buses on this section throughout the day. Long-distance trains from Austria and Switzerland via Lindau-Reutin start and end in St. Margrethen.
No coordination between unions
The fact that there was an air and rail strike in Germany on Friday is a coincidence, emphasized EVG negotiator Kristian Loroch on Wednesday when announcing the actions. Unlike the large-scale, coordinated warning strike in the transport sector at the end of March, the two German unions had not agreed in advance for Friday. “We didn’t do that, there’s no voting this time,” Loroch said.
“We’re not worried about punishing passengers,” said Cosima Ingenschay, a trader for EVG. “On the contrary: we are only interested in increasing the pressure on the employer.” The union is currently in the second round of talks with around 50 rail companies over higher tariffs. At Deutsche Bahn, negotiations are expected to continue next Tuesday.