On Thursday, March 7, the German Locomotive Drivers’ Union (GDL) initiated another strike on passenger rail transport, which will last for 35 hours, this is reported by the railway transport news portal Railway Supply.

German Locomotive Drivers' Union

The strike officially began at 2:00 a.m. and will affect most intercity and regional rail services in Germany.

Only about one-fifth of all trains will operate during the two days.

Stadler: Construction of Commissioning Center in Germany

A similar strike on freight transport started on the evening of March 6.

The strike will continue until 5:00 a.m. on Friday, March 8, for freight transport and until 1:00 p.m. on the same day for passenger transport.

Additionally, if the union’s conditions are not met, they may resort to spontaneous strikes.

As stated by the union’s leader Klaus Weselsky, the strike was in response to unsuccessful negotiations with Deutsche Bahn earlier in the week, which were supposed to continue until Sunday, March 10. According to the railway company, the union prematurely ended the negotiations. GDL’s main demand remains reducing the working week to 35 hours while maintaining current wages.

The union leader also warned of further spontaneous strikes and that the union would no longer provide 48-hour notice to prevent Deutsche Bahn from issuing emergency schedules.

“This means that the railway is no longer a reliable means of transportation,” emphasized the union leader.

As previously reported, German railway workers announced a week-long strike.

Rail business, industry, and railway technology news from Railway Supply that you might have missed:

New tender for the supply of metro cars in India

Find the latest news of the railway industry in Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union and the rest of the world on our page on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, read Railway Supply magazine online.

Place your ads on webportal and in Railway Supply magazine. Detailed information is in Railway Supply media kit