Following the strike by the GDL train drivers' union, Deutsche Bahn is on course for normal operations on Wednesday. "Rail traffic got off to a largely normal start this morning after the end of the GDL strike," Deutsche Bahn announced in Berlin this morning.On Wednesday, the full range of timetables is expected to run again in long-distance and regional transport, as well as for commuter trains. The industrial action of the GDL had ended early Wednesday morning around 2:00 a.m. as scheduled. However, a solution to the wage dispute is still not in sight.

According to Deutsche Bahn, work was carried out on Tuesday and Wednesday night to ensure that around 860 long-distance trains and around 21,000 regional and suburban trains could operate according to the normal timetable. However, travelers should inform themselves in advance via the timetable information on the Internet and in the app, whether there are any deviations, the railroad further announced.

According to DB Cargo, up to 220 freight trains were stuck in a backlog due to the strike. Freight services have been running again since the night of Wednesday. "We expect the consequences of the strike to be resolved very dynamically in the next few hours," a spokesman said.All long-distance tickets already booked from Aug. 23 to Aug. 25 inclusive for routes affected by the GDL strike remain valid and can be used flexibly up to and including Sept. 4, according to Deutsche Bahn.

The rivalry between unions complicates negotiations

There is disagreement in the wage dispute over when employees should get pay increases. There is also wrangling over a possible Corona bonus and company pensions.The strike began in the night to Monday in passenger traffic, in freight traffic already on Saturday. The GDL has yet to draw up a balance sheet. It was their second industrial action this month. Further strikes are possible.The GDL rivals the Railway and Transport Union (EVG) for members at the railroads. Unlike the EVG, it does not want to accept a zero increase this year.

EVG chairman Klaus-Dieter Hommel called on Federal Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer (CSU) to stay out of the collective bargaining dispute at Deutsche Bahn. It is true that the GDL is "only conditionally concerned with material demands, but with political goals," Hommel's letter to the politician reads. "Nevertheless, we are convinced that this round of collective bargaining must be resolved exclusively by the negotiating parties themselves." Scheuer had criticized the GDL strike and called on the union to return to the negotiating table.

Image by S. Hermann & F. Richter