The announced six-day strike by train drivers will once again severely restrict rail services in Saxony. Deutsche Bahn is preparing for the strike from January 24 to 29 with an emergency timetable. On the other hand, rail competitors who have already reached or are negotiating collective agreements with the train drivers' union GDL are hoping for fewer train cancellations. An overview:
Deutsche Bahn with emergency timetable
Deutsche Bahn will be operating an emergency timetable for long-distance and local services from Wednesday. Passengers should check the internet or the app to find out which connections are possible. As with previous strikes, it is expected that around a fifth of long-distance trains will be running nationwide, said a Deutsche Bahn spokeswoman. Extra-long trains will be used to transport as many passengers as possible. In addition, goodwill arrangements for tickets already purchased will apply again. Train reservations will be canceled. In local transport, attempts will be made to organize additional replacement trips with buses.
City-Bahn Chemnitz only runs school lines
The approximately 100 train drivers of City-Bahn Chemnitz have also been called out on strike. The company operates various regional lines from Chemnitz towards the Erzgebirge and Central Saxony as well as two regional train lines. Spokesman Falk Ester said that City-Bahn would only be able to operate three lines that are important for school transport in the morning hours. These are connections between Chemnitz and Burgstädt/Aue as well as Stollberg and the regional train between Glauchau and Stollberg. Whether other trains and an emergency bus service can run is still being examined.
Collective bargaining for Mitteldeutsche Regiobahn underway
The company Transdev wants to operate its five Mitteldeutsche Regiobahn lines. These are the Leipzig-Chemnitz, Leipzig-Döbeln, Dresden-Hof, Dresden-Zwickau and Chemnitz-Elsterwerda lines. Transdev is in constructive talks with the GDL and will not go on strike, said a spokesperson. However, if, for example, Deutsche Bahn dispatchers were to take part in the strike, Mitteldeutsche Regiobahn would also be unable to operate the route in question.
Trilex and Vogtlandbahn cannot rule out cancellations
Länderbahn cannot rule out the impact of the train drivers' strike on its Trilex and Vogtlandbahn brands either. The company's own employees are exempt from the strike because the parent company Netinera has already reached a collective agreement with the GDL. However, should railroad employees in signal boxes or operations centers strike, this would also affect Trilex and Vogtlandbahn. Passengers should check online for the latest information.
Regional lines are also to be operated in eastern Saxony
The situation is similar at Odeg, which operates lines such as Hoyerwerda-Niesky-Görlitz and Cottbus-Görlitz-Zittau in eastern Saxony. Even if Odeg is not directly on strike, there could be disruptions and irregularities in operations on all lines, the company announced. The reason for this is that Ostdeutsche Eisenbahn also uses Deutsche Bahn's infrastructure.
Locomotive drivers want to strike for six days
The train drivers' union GDL has called for a six-day strike. The strike in passenger transport is to begin early Wednesday morning at 2.00 am and last until Monday next week at 6.00 pm, the union announced on Monday night.
The railroad and the GDL began negotiating new collective agreements at the beginning of November. The sticking point in the collective bargaining round is the weekly working hours for shift workers. The GDL is calling for this to be reduced from 38 to 35 hours with full pay compensation. It was only on Friday that Deutsche Bahn presented a new collective bargaining offer to bring the GDL back to the negotiating table. Among other things, it also includes an option for one hour less working hours for train drivers and train attendants from January 1, 2026.
Copyright 2024, dpa (www.dpa.de). All rights reserved
