Deutsche Bahn strikes next week: update
 

For those who are concerned but cannot read the German news websites:

Strikes on Deutsche Bahn start on Monday morning and will continue all week. A first warning strike is announced for Dortmund during the night. On Monday morning, Freiburg and Karlsruhe will be affected, as well as Hamburg, Erfurt and the routes via Magdeburg and Munich - Ulm - Stuttgart.
Source: www.tagesschau.de

Deutsche Bahn has installed an information hotline: 08000-996633

Thanks <b>very much</b> for this update. We have tickets for the overnight train Paris-Hamburg on 12 July and are watching this situation as closely as possible.

Here is another article on the German rail strike. I will reproduce it here because the source is via email and I am not sure if it has an email address I can cite. I will give my translation, and those of you who read German more fluently than I can augment and correct.

First the German text followed by my translation.

Berlin. Die Gewerkschaften Transnet und GDBA haben fuer morgen zu ersten Warnstreiks aufgerufen. Sie zogen damit die Konsequenzen aus den ergebnislosen Tarifverhandlungen. Bahnreisende muessen mit deutlichen Behinderungen rechnen. Betroffen sind vor allem der Suedwesten und der Osten Deutschlands. Die Protestaktionen sollen am fruehen Montagmorgen zunaechst in Dortmund beginnen. In Bayern wird mit einem Warnstreik in Kempten der Verkehr zwischen Muenchen, Ulm und Stuttgart beeintraechtigt sein. Die Arbeitgeber hatten den 134.000 Beschaeftigten zuletzt eine Einmalzahlung von 300 Euro
und zwei Prozent mehr Geld angeboten. Transnet und GDBA fordern sieben Prozent
mehr.

Translation:
The transnet and GDBA unions have called the first warning strike for tomorrow. (Monday, July 2). Therewith begins the consequences of an unproductive wage negotiation session. Rail passengers must anticipate significant delays.
The most affected areas will be east Germany and southwest Germany. The protest action will begin first early Monday morning in Dortmund. In Bavaria there will be a warning strike in Kempten which will impact rail traffic between Munich, Ulm, and Stuttgart.
At the end, the employer (Die Bahn) offered the 134,000 employees a one-time payment of 300 euro and 2% more pay.
Transnet and GDBA wanted 7% more pay.
--------------------------------

The situation to me sounds like it could be protracted. The union is asking for 7% more; the employer is offering 2% more plus a pittance of 300 euro in a one-time payment.

Anybody else have a reference they can cite? I am concerned that a month might not be sufficient to resolve the difficulties.

Question for those who know Germany better than I: Can a German federal court order the rail workers back on the job? The consequence of not returning to work would be heavy fines levied on the union's cash reserves.

Why should any court order them back to work? This is a legal strike.

Totally objective updates are appreciated.

Update, Monday 16.45 h:

Seems things are getting rough tomorrow.
Tomorrow morning from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. the locomotive drivers are going on strike country wide. This will mean huge delays and cancelling of trains. Passengers who cannot travel because of the strike can have their tickets refunded till the end of July.

Source: http://www.tagesschau.de/aktuell/mel...V_REF1,00.html (in German; with further links)

DB's information page: http://www.bahn.de/blitz/view/streik.shtml (in German)

DB's service hotline for calls from abroad: +49 1805-334444

Again, thanks for the update.

Thank you so much for posting!
We have overnight tickets for this Sunday, July 9th, from Frankfurt to Italy.
I'll start looking into options in case this continues and affects us.

Will this also affect the bus that travels out to Frankfurt Hahn airport?

Carla, I hope you mean either Sunday the <b>8th</b> or Monday the 9th

&gt;Will this also affect the bus that travels out to Frankfurt Hahn airport?

No - Bohr Omnibusse AG has nothing to do with the railways.

Haha oops! It's overnight so it includes both!

Just spoke with my sister in the Frankfurt area. She said they are officially closing the airport and stadium train stations July9-29.
I would plan on a taxi if you're trying to get to or from the airport during that time!

She said it is mostly the local trains being affected, so if you have an international haul you ought to be alright, but if you need to take a shorter route to get to one of the main stations you may have trouble, so allow yourself a lot of time.

&gt;they are officially closing the airport and stadium train stations July9-29.

Only the regional trains stattion is closed in this time. Instead of more frequent normal S-Bahn from the reginal plattform, there will be S-Bahn shuttle trains from the long-distance train plattforms every 30 min.

Here's another update:

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/...ap3880843.html

This is one of many reasons that I prefer to see Europe via rental car.

&gt;This is one of many reasons that I prefer to see Europe via rental car.

You must enjoy the traffic jams.

Appreciate the updates!!
We arrive in Dusseldorf on July 9th and plan to take the train from the airport to Amsterdam. Is the strike affecting all airports on July 9th? Thanks for any information!
Sandra

&gt; Is the strike affecting all airports on July 9th?

Nobody knows yet - stay tuned.

I am not sure the article reproduced below adds much to what we already know about the train strike.

Basically the article I read says that Bahn CEO Mehdorn has offered to meet on Thursday with all 3 striking the unions to negotiate.

Schell head of the locomotive drivers' union, GDL, says that he has no intentions of meeting jointly with the other 2 unions in negotiating sessions.

Siebert, a GDL spokesperson, says the locomotive drivers will not strike again until Thursday.

The Transnet and GDBA unions have not yet decided to accept the offer to negotiate.

By late afternoon the warning strikes apparantly had made a pronounced impact. According to information from Die Bahn, 7 regional trains in the Munich area were either late or failed all together.
In contrast, the local trains (S-Bahn)
in Nuernberg and Munich went as scheduled. In the early part of the day, the warning strikes in various parts of Germany brought train travel to a standstill. Only occasional trains ran, and many workers were late for work even when they took other means of transportation.

Bahnnchef Mehdorn hat im Tarifstreit al le drei Bahngewerkschaften fuer
Donners tag zu einem Gespraech eingeladen. Der Chef der GDL, Schell,
sagte in der Tagesschau, die Lokfuehrergewerkschaft bestehe darauf,
nicht gemeinsam mit den Bahngewerkschaften Transnet und GDBA am
Verhandlungstisch zu sitzen. Die GDL verfolge voellig andere tarifliche Ziele. GDL-Sprecherin Seibert teilte in Frankfurt mit, die Lokfuehrer verzichteten bis Donnerstag auf weitere Streiks. Transnet und GDBA haben noch nicht ueber das Gespraechsangebot entschieden.

Die Warnstreiks bei der Deutschen Bahn haben offenbar auch am spaeten
Nachmittag noch Auswirkungen gehabt. Nach Angaben der Bahn hatten
allein im Raum Muenchen noch sieben Regionalzuege grosse Verspaetung
oder fielen ganz aus. Dagegen fuhren die S-Bahnen in Muenchen und Nuernberg wieder planmaessig. In der Frueh hatten die Warnstreiks in weiten Teilen Deutschlands den Bahnverkehr zum Erliegen gebracht. Nur vereinzelt fuhren Zuege - viele Pendler kamen, auch wenn sie auf andere Verkehrsmittel umstiegen, zu spaet zur Arbeit.