Deserted platforms – and that at rush hour: the warning strike at Deutsche Bahn was also obvious in Munich on Friday.
This is the balance sheet.
Munich – Nothing worked at all on the Munich S-Bahn from 3 a.m. to 11 a.m.
All trains were canceled - including the lines to the airport.
Traffic on the main S-Bahn line did not start again until around 11:25 a.m. There were delays and restrictions until the afternoon.
The railway and transport union (EVG) had called for a nationwide warning strike.
Train drivers, dispatchers and service personnel were also involved.
After all: Unlike the last warning strike at the end of March, this time the people of Munich were able to switch to other public transport such as trams, buses and subways.
The employees of the Munich Transport Company (MVG) were not called to go on strike.
Despite many passengers switching from the S-Bahn to the U-Bahn and tram, there were no overcrowded trains or longer waiting times, a spokesman said.
There was no major traffic chaos, at least within the city.
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The situation was different in local and long-distance transport: The strike in Bavaria brought almost all rail traffic to a standstill between 3 a.m. and 11 a.m.: No train left Munich Central Station until 11 a.m. – the reception hall remained empty.
Long-distance traffic did not start again until around 1 p.m.
Over 3000 strikers in Munich and Upper Bavaria
In the morning, around 150 railway employees in high-visibility vests gathered on the tracks in Munich Central Station, wanting to emphasize their demands at an EVG rally.
From the point of view of the branch manager of the EVG in Munich, Isidoro Peronace, the warning strike was a “maximum success.” Around 3,100 railway employees took part in the walkout in Munich and Upper Bavaria alone – Peronace estimates the number of participants at 5,000 to 6,000 for all of Bavaria are serious, the railways should feel that,” he says.
Background: In the negotiations with the industry, the EVG demands at least 650 euros more per month for employees or twelve percent for the upper income groups as well as a term of twelve months for the collective agreement.
Another round of negotiations with Deutsche Bahn is to take place next Tuesday.
Bahn criticizes the warning strike: "useless and unnecessary"
The latter was recently open to making offers to the union – but no agreement was reached.
Against this background, the personnel manager of the railway, Martin Seiler, criticized the warning strike in advance as completely "useless and unnecessary".
"The EVG has completely lost measure and center and only relies on riots," he said.
In addition to Deutsche Bahn, EVG is also negotiating with other railway companies such as Transdev, which operates the Bayerische Oberlandbahn (BOB), for example.
If the negotiations with all those involved do not bring any results in the next few weeks, the EVG does not rule out further strikes, said Isidoro Peronace.
You can find even more current news from Munich and the region at
merkur.de/muenchen
