Planning on taking the train in Germany? Better have a backup plan.
 

<i>Drivers for Germany's Deutsche Bahn plan a week-long strike to start on Monday, their eighth walkout in 10 months of wage negotiations.</i>

http://www.dw.de/german-railways-to-...ike/a-18426153

Yes, this strike is for this week but considering that it is the 8th strike in 10 months, anyone planning on rail travel through Germany this year should have a backup plan just in case.

.. but a extremely high number of trains seem to run nevertheless
http://www.bahn.de/hilfe/view/pk/de/streik2.shtml
For point to point travel, check http://www.checkmybus.ch/
These buses are cheaper than trains anyway.

A lot of trains do run, HOWEVER, if you bought a Sparpreis ticket then you are very likely SOL.

All i am saying is have a backup plan, just in case. Especially if you bought a discounted ticket.

May make the value of a German Railpass if taking more than a few trains priceless as can be used on any train with very few exceptions anytime - just hop on as nearly no German trains have mandated seat requirements! Sometimes folks save a relatively little money with discounted tickets and their potential liabilities in such strikes when for a modest sum more they could travel carte blanche!

If a train is cancelled for which you bought a Sparpreis Ticket, you can take a different one.

I think there are restrictions with very cheap tickets as Länder or weekend tickets to take the more expensive trains (IC, ICE). But if you have a ticket for the train to Frankfurt at 13:00 which gets cancelled, you can take the one at 12:00 or 14:00.

Here writes the local man from Germany:

Next week there will be chaos in the railway system. Yes, a few trains will run - but hours late, you do not know whether they go and when, the stations will be crowded with stranded people, the platforms will be crowded and the trains too. You may get a refund for your ticket, but only after waiting in line in front of the counter for two hours, after filling out a 4-pages-form and after threatening to give the matter in the hands of your lawyer.

What will happen after this week-long strike, nobody can predict. Maybe they find an agreement, maybe there will be more strikes.

In other words: Your vacation will be ruined. Forget train travel when the train is on strike. The plan B might be a bus (www.meinfernbus.de), but since everyone makes this plan b, the buses might be fully booked as well. Plan C will be a rental car. Plan D a flight, if there is a connection.

If a train is cancelled for which you bought a Sparpreis Ticket, you can take a different one.>

If you can physically scramble onto one and on which all the seats may have been reserved by then by folks in the know - but if you cn physically squeeze on you can find a place to stand - maybe not for your bags always but at least you - that is the worst-case scenario but possible I believe.

>>A lot of trains do run<<

That is simply not true.

I'm glad that for our all-too-short trip in June, we're hiring a car to get us from Berlin to our destination, about 2 hours drive away.

The earliest we could have got there by train was an hour after we'll get there by car [always supposing I can find our destination, and don't head for the same town of the same name like we almost did last time] and with the strikes, it's possible that by the time we got there it would be time to come back.

annhig - under optimal conditions you may arrive there an hour earlier by car but IME of driving German autobahns there can be stahls as I believe Germans call them - been in so many, mainly around big cities though. but given the questionable iffy spector of trains not running or the few that may be so overloaded you wouldn't want to - a car makes sense and Berlin as you may know is an excellent city to drive in - thanks to WW2 with its now broad boulevards going everywhere.

>>>stahls as I believe Germans call them<<<

The word "stahls" does not exist in German. There is a word "Stahl" which translates to "steel" and has nothing to do with Autobahnen.

We have very few connections where the train is faster than the car from door to door. And, sadly enough, the train is usually late, you miss connections and you are in trouble. German trains used to be reliable, but this is long ago. It has obviously not made to North Michigan yet.

What is a bottle neck on an autobahn be called? Curious?

Pal - I think you're talking about a "Stau", which is the german for "hold up", or traffic jam, as our Navi constantly reminded us on our way from Karlsruhe to Stuttgart airport on a Monday morning. [not recommended]

We won't be driving on Berlin, but heading south west from the airport towards Leipzig and beyond.

Is it possible to figure out in advance which trains will still run? Even a couple hours in advance could make the difference between enjoying a different city than planned and wasting hours sitting in a train station. I arrive in Germany in the next 5 days and was going to be traveling almost exclusively by train ...

Also, what do you suggest as a backup plan? Car rental?

Yep. A Stau is a traffic jam.

If you rent a car and are planning to use the autobahn, it would be wise to plan in a 30-45 min buffer for every 2 hours you plan on driving just in case you run into an accident or other slowdown. I seems like every time we drive to/from FRA that we are stuck in traffic for at least 30 min.


<i>Is it possible to figure out in advance which trains will still run? Even a couple hours in advance could make the difference between enjoying a different city than planned and wasting hours sitting in a train station. I arrive in Germany in the next 5 days and was going to be traveling almost exclusively by train ...

Also, what do you suggest as a backup plan? Car rental?</i>

It's possible to figure out the schedules but like others said, the trains will be packed to the gills. Check schedules here: http://www.bahn.de/p_en/view/index.shtml and expect to see one running train for every 4-7 cancelled.

The most convenient backup plan is to rent a car. (And take along your own GPS. This one has lifetime maps: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ZHGJ4K5AFQFJFY )

I couldn't find the English version but I think this is the most reliable German version. I think it's different from the normal schedule query. Start is start, Ziel is destination.

http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/que...n-zuegen._LZ01

From a quick check on the route I'm often travelling (and will travel on Thu or Fri), at least 50% of the trains are still scheduled. No idea how representative this is.

I wouldn't be surprised if they were more packed than ususal and I'd also expect more delays than usual. But during the last strike I took regional trains to work, i.e. rush-hour, and they were in my opinion less crowded than normal. A lot of people must have switched to alternative transports. Which is also the reason why I'd expect more trafic and traffic jams than usual on the streets.

Hans, the link I posted ( http://www.bahn.de/p_en/view/index.shtml ) gives the current rail schedule.

The regionals and locals are running but many are also cancelled. Looks like only 25% from a few local searches I performed.

"If you can physically scramble onto one and on which all the seats may have been reserved by then by folks in the know - but if you cn physically squeeze on you can find a place to stand - maybe not for your bags always but at least you - that is the worst-case scenario but possible I believe."

No doubt that this can happen. But I'd expect many people to avoid train travel if at all possible. If one can avoid rush-hour, I wouldn't be surprised if the situation is better than the worst case.

By the way, without reservation I'd head to the restaurant car. There's often a chance to get a seat there.

Spark, sorry, I thought I saw a difference in a search but I probably just got it wrong.

I think the amount of cancelled local trains might also depend on how many Beamte (state employees from the time before the Bahn was privatized) are still working in a region since they aren't allowed to strike. I think the percentage is higher in the former West Germany than in former East Germany.

Is there a decent chance that this situation will stretch into the summer?

And would the strike affect EC trains that originate or end in Germany?