In view of the strike announced on Thursday, train travelers have to fear that they will not reach their destination.
What options you now have as a passenger.
Yet again
a
rail strike *
threatens to
paralyze train traffic.
The GDL has called for a labor dispute, passenger traffic is
affected
from early Thursday morning (September 2nd)
.
The strike in passenger traffic is to begin on Thursday at 2 a.m. and last for five days.
In freight transport, the members should stop working on Wednesday evening.
In the event of a rail strike: Ticket return possible - this is how it works
Travelers
have several options - including the
return of tickets
.
If you do not want to travel during the strike period for whatever reason, you can have your
ticket reimbursed free of charge
.
This also applies expressly to connections that would be available, reports the German Press Agency (dpa).
For tickets bought online or in the app, a goodwill form must be filled out on the DB website.
Attention: tickets that have been bought at the counter can only be returned there.
Tip: You shouldn't put off your complaint for too long.
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Rail strike: That's how much money you get back if you are delayed
In which cases is there money back?
"If you do not arrive at your destination on time because of a train
strike, you can
get part of the fare or even the entire fare back, depending on the delay,
" the consumer advice center informed on its website during the previous strike.
That regulates the EU passenger regulation.
The
amount of compensation
depends on the
length of the delay
. "If passengers arrive at least 60 minutes later than planned, they are entitled to a 25 percent reimbursement, with more than 120 minutes it is 50 percent," says Beatrix Kaschel from the local transport arbitration board in Düsseldorf in the dpa report. According to the dpa, claims can be made online, on the train or in a DB office using the passenger rights form.
In the
event of
a
delay of more than 60 minutes,
the railway company must also offer those affected free refreshments and meals in a reasonable proportion to the waiting time, according to
verbüberszentrale.de,
provided they are available or deliverable on the train or at the station.
Tip from the consumer advice center: "If there is nothing from the company and you buy something on your own, keep these invoices."
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The consumer advice center advises: Document train delays
The consumer
advice center
also advises collecting the
receipts of delays or train cancellations
right there and then: Either you can have delays certified by DB employees at the train station.
However, that could be tedious if thousands of passengers were stranded at a train station during a strike.
Or you can take photos of the
display boards
on which the delay or the train cancellation can be seen, according to the advice of consumer advocates.
Or screenshots of corresponding information in the
DB app
or on the railway company's website.
Train connection does not run: Can passengers change?
For the
long distance
the train does not track applies for the ticket, passengers can avoid another connection: dpa According applies. Higher-quality trains - for example ICE instead of IC - could then be used. The train connection has been lifted. Tickets that have already been booked for the strike period from September 2nd to 7th inclusive could be used on a different day. According to the railway, they are valid from August 30th to September 17th inclusive.
According to the dpa, these regulations apply to
local transport
: If connections are
delayed by at least 20 minutes
, passengers could use long-distance trains at no extra charge.
Before passengers board a long-distance train, they have to buy a valid ticket, writes dpa.
They could later have the costs reimbursed by Deutsche Bahn.
However, this only applies if the original route is no longer than 50 kilometers or does not take longer than an hour.
This regulation does not apply even to a significantly reduced ticket - for example a national or semester ticket.
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Possible alternatives when the train is not running
In the worst case, you can or must switch to alternative means of transport.
Here are the pros and cons:
Use other trains that are not on strike:
In Munich, for example, the subway will not be on strike this time either, but the S-Bahn will.
All in all, of course, local public transport is likely to get busier.
Long-distance bus
: For many travelers, the long-distance bus is an obvious option, reports dpa.
In times of strike, the market leader Flixbus recorded a significant increase in demand.
Tip: travelers should be quick.
Because prices are likely to rise the closer the travel day gets.
Rental cars:
The number of rental car bookings also tends to increase during the strike period.
This would mean that capacities would become scarcer - which should also have an impact on prices.
Taxi / Uber:
Depending on the distance to the destination, switching to a taxi can be useful.
Getting one spontaneously is likely to be more difficult than at times when there is no strike.
Airplane:
If you want to switch to the airplane at short notice, you may have to dig deeper into your pocket.
Own car:
what remains is your own car.
Due to the rail strike, however, it is likely to get crowded on the streets, especially during rush hour.
Anyone who chooses this option must therefore plan significantly more time and should definitely inform the employer in the event of possible delays.
This time, too, the rail strike is likely to hit millions of passengers, including many vacationers.
Particularly bitter: This time it also affects the weekend.
(ahu) * Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
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