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STRIKES

When will the next set of rail strikes take place in Germany?

Rail union EVG and German rail operator Deutsche Bahn have reached a deadlock in negotiations. Could there be another round of rail strikes as early as next week?

Published: 2 June 2023 15:37 CEST
When will the next set of rail strikes take place in Germany?
Passengers cross the platform at Munich Central Station. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Matthias Balk

As June gets underway, schools in a number of states are beginning their summer holidays, marking the start of Germany’s peak travel season.

From next week, the populous states of Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatine will all be on their summer break, with North Rhine-Westphalia due to follow at the end of June.

But the spectre of further strikes on Germany’s rail network is casting a shadow over many people’s travel plans – especially those who are planning a staycation. 

That’s largely because, after three rounds of negotiations, the rail union EVG and Deutsche Bahn still seem far away from reaching a pay deal.

While Deutsche Bahn is pitching a 12 percent pay hike over two years, EVG is insisting on 12 percent over 12 months, with a minimum pay rise of €650 per month to ensure lower earners get a steeper increase than their better-paid colleagues. 

In the latest exchange of blows between the two parties, EVG turned down the latest improved pay offer from Deutsche Bahn and slammed the proposals as “socially unjust”.

On Wednesday, the union also called on the rail operator resume talks and made a thinly veiled threat of further industrial action if DB refused.

“If nothing happens at the negotiating table, we have to apply pressure with #Warnstreiks,” it tweeted.

READ ALSO: German rail workers reject Deutsche Bahn pay deal: Are more strikes looming?

When could the next strikes happen?

According to media reports, EVG has ruled out strikes over the weekend, meaning rail passengers can breathe a sign of relief if they’re travelling on Saturday or Sunday.

That’s partly because any new round of strikes would require an internal vote, and also because Saturday marks the 25th anniversary of a tragic ICE accident in Eschede that saw 101 people lose their lives. 

“It is important for colleagues that we will not strike on this day and also not on the days of arrival and departure for the commemoration on Friday and Sunday,” EVG chief negotiator Kristian Loroch explained.

EVG strike demo Duisburg

Demonstrators from the EVG rail union gather in front of Duisburg Hauptbahnhof during a strike in March. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Christoph Reichwein

However, union sources have told Focus magazine that a strike on Monday or Tuesday is “highly likely” – partly because of the disruption it could cause over the busy holiday period.

There has also been speculation that EVG is waiting to see what rival train drivers’ union GDL will propose when it put forward its own pay demands on June 5th. 

Though GDL isn’t set to negotiate a new collective agreement until autumn, the union has has a combative relationship with EVG and has previously attacked the larger rail union for being too moderate in its demands. 

That suggests that GDL’s latest bid could act as a bellwether in EVG’s ongoing negotiations.  

Can more strikes still be avoided?

Earlier in the week, another round of national rail strikes appeared inevitable – but EVG’s tone softened slightly ahead of the weekend. 

According to reports in Tagesschau, Deutsche Bahn has now agreed to sit back at the negotiating table with EVG after initially ruling out more talks as “pointless”.

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: How to get compensation for delayed or cancelled trains in Germany

In a release announcing the news on Thursday evening, EVG steered clear of any mention of strikes.

However, it is still common practice in Germany for unions to call warning strikes ahead of scheduled talks as a way of flexing their muscles and strengthening their hand in negotiations.

These are normally announced a few days before they happen.

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TRAIN TRAVEL

‘More seats’: How Deutsche Bahn is tackling overcrowding on German regional trains

Regional trains in Germany have become completely overloaded on excursion routes in the summer season since the introduction of the Deutschlandticket. This season Deutsche Bahn plans to take countermeasures.

Published: 30 April 2024 11:11 CEST
'More seats': How Deutsche Bahn is tackling overcrowding on German regional trains

Anyone who has travelled with Deutsche Bahn’s regional (RE) trains during the summer vacation period has probably seen how crowded German trains can get.

Last year, trains on some routes were completely overloaded. 

Regional train passenger numbers have increased significantly since the introduction of the Deutschlandticket. According to the Association of German Transport Companies (VDV), the ticket, which costs €49 per month, has an average of 11.2 million users per month.

Deutsche Bahn wants to prevent overcrowded trains by adding more capacity in regional transport in summer, especially on routes that are in demand for tourism. 

“We will provide more seats,” said Evelyn Palla, Deutsche Bahn board member and DB Regio CEO, to the German Press Agency. “Exactly what this will look like is currently being coordinated with the authorities.”

Which routes are the most crowded?

Regional trains heading for the Baltic Sea from Berlin, for example, sometimes had to pass stations with waiting passengers last summer because they were already too full.

“Especially in the case of excursion destinations, we are seeing a strong increase on weekends…,” said Palla. 

She added that the routes; from Berlin to the Baltic Sea, from Hamburg to Sylt, or from Munich to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, are known to get exceptionally crowded.

Each of these routes connect summer travellers from big cities to popular regional vacation destinations.

The northern island of Sylt, for example, is known as a playground for affluent Germans. The North Frisian island became the subject of endless jokes when the Deutschlandticket was announced and German holidaymakers began to realize that with a €9 subscription ticket, people across the country could theoretically vacation there. 

READ ALSO: What is Sylt and why is it terrified of Germany’s €9 holidaymakers?

Common vacation periods, like when public schools are out for summer break, and weekends also have an impact on train capacities, as well as the time of day. 

The aforementioned routes tend to be more crowded in the outward direction during the morning and early afternoon, and then more crowded in the inbound direction in the evenings as people return home.

How can DB add more capacity?

It will be difficult to make adjustments in the short term, because the public authorities – the federal states and their transport associations – have authority over regional transport. 

Palla said that DB is already communicating with the relevant parties. “We are in talks with them about how we want to proceed this summer,” she said.

Palla also emphasised that outside of key destination routes, regional transport is not overloaded in Germany. “We have an average capacity utilisation of 25 to 30 percent,” she said, which is half as much as in long-distance transport. “However, it can happen that we reach our limits on certain days of the week, on certain lines and routes.” 

When it comes to adding passenger capacity on trains, the options are pretty straightforward, DB needs to add either more cars to its trains, or more trains on the routes that are crowded. But DB didn’t specify its exact plans.

Palla does not think, however, that the situation will be made worse by the upcoming Euro 2024 championship in Germany – a belief that will be tested in June.

However, Palla said that in addition to promoting the Deutschlandticket, politicians must also invest in the expansion of the offer because it is convincing people to choose public transport.

“At the end of the day, this is the lever that convinces people to use public transport,” she said.

READ ALSO: Where to expect disruption due to rail upgrades in Germany this year

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