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TRAVEL NEWS

Rail travel chaos looms in Germany’s most populous state

Construction works and staff sickness mean rail passengers in North Rhine-Westphalia are in for a difficult few weeks. Here’s what you need to know.

A regional express train enters Cologne central station.
A regional express train enters Cologne central station. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Oliver Berg

Two major construction projects in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia are about to give a lot of rail passengers a hard time in the coming weeks.

This week, 3.8 kilometres of track between Dortmund and Bochum will be renewed, with construction works due to begin at 9pm on Monday 21st and ending on Thursday morning at 5am.

In the meantime, the National Express (RRX) trains on the RE6, RE1 and RE11 lines will have to be rerouted from Dortmund and the stops at Bochum central station, Essen central station and Mülheim central station will be cancelled. The trains will be diverted between Dortmund and Duisburg via Gelsenkirchen, Herne, Essen Altenessen and Oberhausen.

READ ALSO: UPDATE: How a cargo train collision is disrupting travel across Germany

A modernisation project at the Cologne Messe/Deutz station has been causing numerous cancellations in the greater Cologne area too since November 18th and is set to continue until December 12th.

Eight new switches and 100 sleepers are being installed at the Cologne Messe/Deutz station in several construction phases, which will result in train cancellations, skipped stops and several detours, which in turn may lead to delays.

“The effects will vary depending on the construction phase and the line,” explains Deutsche Bahn, and the only thing that is certain is that almost all lines that run in Cologne will be affected. 

A full overview of the current restrictions affecting these lines can be found here (in German).

Restrictions due to staff shortages

As well as construction projects, staff shortages due to illness are also leading to delays and reduced services in NRW.

Deutsche Bahn and the Rhine-Ruhr Transport Association (VRR) have announced various restrictions on local transport until Christmas, due to “high sick leave” among the employees of the rail operator.

A sign for rail replacement services hangs at the train station in Rösrath, North Rhine-Westphalia. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Oliver Berg

“Of course, we first tried to solve it in other ways, i.e. with overtime or even getting people to come back from holiday, but at some point, we reached the end of the line,” DB spokesman for NRW, Dirk Pohlmann, told RP online. 

The situation meant that recently, trains were being cancelled at very short notice, so, instead, VRR reached an agreement with DB to reduce services on some lines in order to ensure reliable service on others.

READ ALSO: What are my rights if a train is delayed or cancelled in Germany?

As a result, the S3 is currently cancelled between Essen Steele Ost and Oberhausen, the S68 service between Langenfeld and Wuppertal-Vohwinkel is also cancelled and there is a slightly limited service on the RB 32 (Duisburg – Oberhausen – Gelsenkirchen – Herne-Dortmund) and RB 40 (Essen via Witten to Hagen) lines. 

DB has set up a rail replacement service with buses for the S3 and the RB 32.

“As with almost all companies in Germany, the level of sickness among our employees is currently high. Due to the tight staff situation at DB Regio NRW, there will therefore be minor regional restrictions on train services from Monday, November 21st, up to and including December 23rd,” Deutsche Bahn announced. 

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TRAVEL NEWS

No Easter strikes: Germany’s Lufthansa and ground staff reach pay deal

German airline giant Lufthansa and a union representing ground staff said Wednesday they had reached an agreement on pay after a lengthy dispute, averting the threat of Easter holiday strikes.

No Easter strikes: Germany's Lufthansa and ground staff reach pay deal

The deal between the carrier and the powerful Verdi union came after ground staff staged walkouts in recent months, leading to widespread disruption for air travellers.

After a series of direct pay talks failed, Lufthansa and Verdi entered arbitration this week, leading to Wednesday’s breakthrough.

Details of the deal were not immediately released.

But Lufthansa personnel chief Michael Niggemann said it was a “good compromise with substantial salary increases over the term of the agreement”.

Verdi had been seeking pay rises of 12.5 percent for the roughly 25,000 Lufthansa ground staff that it represents.

The ground staff staged their latest strike in early March, with a two-day walkout that led to the cancellation of up to 90 percent of Lufthansa’s flights. They also walked out in February.

Lufthansa cabin crew, who went on strike at major airports earlier this month, have still not reached a pay deal with the carrier.

But news outlet Spiegel reported that the airline group and the UFO union, which represents cabin crew, are due to enter arbitration after the Easter break.

The airline group earlier this month warned of the damaging impact of the wave of recent strikes, saying they would contribute to heavier losses in the first quarter compared to last year.

Lufthansa also faced a wave of strikes in 2022 by staff pushing for higher wages, leading to them winning hefty wage increases.

The group — whose carriers include Lufthansa, Eurowings, Austrian, Swiss and Brussels Airlines — had to be bailed out by the German government during the coronavirus pandemic.

But it has since bounced back strongly as travel has recovered, prompting unions to argue the airline is not passing on enough of its bumper earnings to its staff in the form of pay rises.

Wednesday’s announcement represents some more much-needed good news for employers in Europe’s top economy, who have faced a tough season of wage negotiations and strikes across many sectors.

This week, German rail operator Deutsche Bahn and union GDL struck an agreement that will see train drivers work a shorter week, ending a months-long row that caused a series of crippling strikes.

The strikes have added to an already gloomy economic picture, with the German economy shrinking 0.3 percent in 2023.

READ ALSO: ‘A difficult road’: Strike-hit German rail operator agrees to shorter work week

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