Railway workers’ strike disrupts travel across Germany

Railway workers in Germany are on a nationwide strike and have
brought the long-distance and commuter train systems across the country to a
standstill on Wednesday. The railway workers’ union demands a 3.2% salary increase
and a one-time “coronavirus bonus” of £600.

Deutsche Bahn, a train operator said that only a quarter of the
long-distance trains would run on Thursday and Friday due to the two-day strike.
The company has urged passengers to avoid unnecessary travel and said that it
would lift pandemic-related curbs and allow all seats to be booked.

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The strike was started by GDL union members on Tuesday night.
GDL members said that 95% workers had voted to press for their demand for a
salary hike. Deutsche Bahn has rejected the workers’ demands. The company said
that it has lost billions during the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent floods in
Germany destroyed or damaged numerous railroad tracks.   

Children had to packed into buses and trains to get them to
school and vacationers had to scramble to revise their travel plans at the last
minute on account of the strike. Eleven of Germany’s 16 states are on summer
vacation and travellers have been relying on mainly the railway network to get
around.

Deutsche Bahn announced that customers who have already booked
their tickets will be able to claim refunds. The company said that priority
would be given to networks between Berlin and cities in the western parts of
the country, as well as Hamburg and Frankfurt during the strike.

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In Berlin, where schools reopened on Monday, children ran late
on Wednesday because most of the capital’s S-Bahn trains were not running and
streets were jammed as people were trying to get to work in cars because of the
railway strike.

With inputs from AP