German rail services decimated by three-day train driver strike

Germany’s rail operator warned of “massive disruption” and urged passengers to postpone travel where possible after train drivers began a three-day strike in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

A Frankfurt court on Tuesday rejected a request by Deutsche Bahn AG to halt the strike, the third called by the Gewerkschaft Deutscher Lokomotivführer in a bid to push through higher wages and shorter working hours. A stoppage affecting Deutsche Bahn’s cargo unit began already Tuesday evening.

Achim Stauss, a spokesman for the rail operator, said an emergency timetable will enable it to operate around a fifth of long-distance trains, while passengers should expect “massive restrictions” in regional services.

“We urge the GDL to continue negotiations and to take the path of compromise,” Stauss said Wednesday in a statement on Deutsche Bahn’s website. “The GDL wants to push through all of its demands or it goes on strike. That’s not how wage talks work.”

GDL Chairman Claus Weselsky said Deutsche Bahn’s latest offer presented last week “didn’t contain anything substantial” and dismissed it as a “provocation.”

“The Bahn must come up with offers and stop deceiving people in this country,” he told public broadcaster ZDF Wednesday. “If nothing comes before Friday then we’ll take a break and then continue the fight.”

Read More: Deutsche Bahn Loses Court Bid to Stop Train-Drivers’ Strike

The rail strike coincides with another wave of nationwide protests by farmers, who again blocked roads and highways Wednesday to vent their anger over a government plan to end a diesel subsidy.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his ministers have acknowledged the farmers’ right to demonstrate peacefully while warning of the threat of the protests being exploited by extremist and anti-democratic forces.

Transport Minister Volker Wissing urged Deutsche Bahn and the GDL union to “return to the negotiating table.”

“A way must be found that both sides can get along with,” Wissing was quoted as saying by Bild newspaper. “This means talking to each other.”

While train strikes disgruntle passengers the immediate effect on companies is usually less pronounced as manufacturers activate contingency plans. These include shifting transportation of certain goods to trucks or relying on private railway operators.

BASF SE, Volkswagen AG and BMW AG said in separate statements that they don’t anticipate major disruptions at their facilities for the time being.