Due to a warning strike, Deutsche Bahn (DB) will completely stop all long-distance traffic for about two days from Sunday evening. From 22:00 on Sunday until 00:00 on Tuesday, all ICE and IC trains remained at the stations, the group announced on Thursday. Even in regional transport, “almost all trains will not circulate during the strike”.
It was only on April 21 that the rail and transport union (EVG) closed the German rail network with a several-hour warning strike, causing huge delays and cancellations of trains.
Regarding the longest notice in the DB’s history, HR Director Martin Seiler says: “This insane warning is completely unreasonable and exaggerated. Because a solution is possible. Instead of seeking compromises, the EVG (railway and transport union) wants to paralyze the country for an unbelievable 50 hours. This is like an all-out strike without a vote. Millions of travelers are not going where they want to go, to school, to work, to their loved ones.”
“All passengers who wish to postpone their planned trip to May 14-16 due to the EVG strike can now use their long-distance ticket booked until May 11 flexibly until Sunday evening inclusive,” Deutsche Bahn said with .
austria affected
The strikes will stop trains to and from Austria and connections between Salzburg and Tyrol via the Deutsches Eck, the ÖBB said at the request of the APA. “This time, the effects and failures will be more severe and will last longer than in the last strikes in Germany”, warns ÖBB. All affected travelers are urged to refrain from unnecessary travel or switch to alternative modes of transport. Detailed information about affected connections is continually updated via the oebb.at homepage or ÖBB SCOTTY timetable information.
Deutsche Bahn HR director Martin Seiler had previously emphasized that rail traffic can be maintained smoothly, at least until the start of the warning strike on Sunday night. “After what I know now, I would definitely like to see Sunday as safe for traffic,” he said in Cologne.
Only from Sunday night onwards will the railway assume “massive effects” on the entire German railway operation. “It should also be expected to have a significant impact on pan-European cargo traffic,” he said. Six out of ten European freight corridors used the German rail network.
Massive traffic jams as a result
“We have to go on strike for that period of time because then we simply have stronger economic effects and we can increase pressure as a result,” said Cosima Ingenschay, collective bargaining officer at EVG, on Thursday in Cologne. In freight traffic, in particular, long traffic jams would occur, which would increase economic pressure.
Collective bargaining in the railway sector has been taking place since the end of February. It is the third nationwide warning strike that the EVG has called since. In March, together with the Verdi services union, it shut down much public transport, including most airports, for a day. The second stop in April was limited to an eight-hour period, but it also caused many crashes, particularly in long-distance traffic. However, the feared additional traffic jams did not materialize on the motorways.