Status: 11.01.2024, 07:49 a.m.
By: Felix Herz, Lisa Metzger
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Since 2 a.m., the GDL has called for a major battle - again many trains are to come to a standstill in passenger traffic. All the news about the most important routes in Bavaria.
- Rail strike in Bavaria ! From 10 January at 2 a.m., the GDL's strike in passenger transport will officially begin and will last until 12 p.m. on Friday, 18 December.
- This news ticker informs you live about disruptions, cancellations and unexpected trains during the strike and is constantly updated.
- Background: Why many trains are still running despite the strike in Bavaria – insight into Bavaria's rail network
January 11 update: The GDL strike has had a massive impact on train traffic in Bavaria. You can read all the information in our new ticker.
Update from January 10, 15:54 p.m.: The strike by the train drivers' union GDL has also brought train traffic to a partial standstill in Bavaria. The streets in the Free State were all the more crowded. ADAC spokeswoman Katrin van Randenborgh told the German Press Agency on Wednesday: "This morning it was already visible, the traffic volume was significantly higher." Many rail passengers have switched to cars in view of the strike.
The regional trains of Go-Ahead, Agilis and Länderbahn are not on strike by the GDL, but were still affected. In the Allgäu, the GDL went on strike on Wednesday at the Mindelheim and Memmingen signal boxes operated by DB InfraGo, "from midnight probably also Buchloe," Go-Ahead announced in Augsburg. An emergency timetable and bus replacement services have been set up. At the BRB, however, there were cancellations on the Ammersee-Altmühltal railway between Geltendorf and Weilheim.
Update from 10 January, 7.50 a.m.: On the Internet – for example on X (formerly Twitter) – users have a lot of ridicule for Deutsche Bahn. You can often read the joke that many things are cancelled or late – in other words, everything is as it always is.
Update from 10 January, 7.30 a.m.: The GDL is on strike – again. Deutsche Bahn customers who are or were dependent on a train connection between Wednesday and Friday, 12 January, will suffer the most. On Tuesday evening, 9 January, Deutsche Bahn once again published information for travellers:
Information for travellers during the rail strike in Bavaria
Train connection cancelled: "All passengers who wish to postpone their journey planned for Wednesday, 10.01.2024 to Friday, 12.01.2024 due to the GDL strike can use their ticket at a later date," it says. The ticket is valid for a journey to the original destination – even with a different route. Seat reservations can be cancelled free of charge.
Special hotline: Deutsche Bahn has set up a special hotline: 08000-996633. However, it warns that there may be longer waiting times.
Cancel your journey: If passengers wish to cancel their journey altogether during the period of the GDL strike, they can get their tickets refunded free of charge and at full price.
Initial report from 10 January: Munich – No one can predict how big the impact of the GDL strike will ultimately be. Individual members of the industry, however, assume that it will be limited – at least in Bavaria. This is because only DB and at most Transdev – the second-largest railway company in Germany, which also owns the Bayerische Regionalbahn (BRB), are directly affected by the strike. However, past strikes have also shown that most of the BRB trains have been running. This is also due to the fact that the BRB has few train drivers who are members of the GDL.
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Individual restrictions are to be expected
In addition to DB Regio, Go-Ahead also assumes that it will be able to travel as far as possible. However, individual restrictions will still be felt, says press spokesman Winfried Karg. This could not be prevented. This is also confirmed by press spokesman Gernot Baranyi-Schnedlitz of the Bavarian Railway Company (BEG): "The railway system is a huge machine. If parts of it break away, it also has knock-on effects." What is still running and what is not always depends on the question of who ultimately goes on strike.
From 10 to 12 January, the GDL is on strike. In Bavaria, too, many trains are at a standstill – but some are still running. © Imago/Sven Simon, Hanno Bode, Wolfgang Maria Weber
Based on the experience of past strikes, Go-Ahead press spokesman Winfried Karg assesses the forecasts for its own route connections. The press spokeswoman of the BRB, Annette Luckner, can only speak from past experiences, but cannot promise anything beyond that.
Since the railway group Netinera has only recently reached an agreement with the GDL, it can be assumed that there will be hardly any failures on these lines (Agilis, Waldbahn, Oberpfalzbahn, Alex). However, there may be restrictions everywhere due to dependence on DB, for example due to missed connections and striking dispatchers.
(By the way: Our Bayern newsletter informs you daily about all the important stories from Bavaria.)
First prognosis: These trains should run as far as possible
- Go-Ahead (Ulm – Augsburg – Munich)
- Go-Ahead (Munich – Augsburg – Würzburg)
- Agilis
- Forest Railway
- Upper Palatinate Railway
- Alex
First forecast: There are likely to be cancellations and delays on these routes
- DB Long-Distance (large-scale, only 20 percent of trains run)
- DB Regio (large-scale)
- Go-Ahead (Munich – Buchloe – Lindau)
- Bayerische Regionalbahn (although past strikes showed: in the end, hardly any trains were affected)
Cancellations are also expected for Munich and have published an emergency plan for the S-Bahn as a precaution.
GDL's demands: less work with more pay
The German Train Drivers' Union (GDL) incessantly insists on its demands against the employer Deutsche Bahn (DB): a reduction in working hours to a 35-hour week for shift workers, the introduction of a basic five-shift week with a noticeable wage increase at the same time. DB disagrees. Head of Human Resources Martin Seiler recently said in an interview with the Süddeutsche Zeitung that there would be no wage increase with a simultaneous reduction in working hours. However, the company is prepared to give employees a choice: fewer hours or less money.
The GDL under its chairman, Claus Weselsky, has so far rejected this offer. This leads to another escalation of the wage dispute: The GDL announced a strike in passenger transport for Wednesday, January 10 from 2 a.m. This is expected to last until the evening hours of Friday, January 12.
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