International train services to and from the Netherlands have been disrupted by strikes at the German train company Deutsche Bahn (DB). The strike means that there will be an emergency timetable in place until the evening of January 12.
While it’s inconvenient for Dutch passengers unable to travel internationally, people in Germany are now suffering under the pressure of a third train strike in just two months. The main disagreement seems to be between DB executives and the GDL trade union on the issue of salaries and the working hours of staff who work in alternating shifts.
The union is said to want staff to have a 35-hour week while keeping the same salary as the current 38-hour week. They are also demanding a 555 euro per month pay rise for 10.000 workers and a one-off payment of 3.000 euros to compensate for the rising cost of living - DB says that these are not feasible demands.
While the conflict lies between the GDL and Deutsche Bahn, who operate the vast majority of rail services in Germany, the strike also affects services run by FlixTrain and other firms, as signal controllers are also part of the union.
The main impact of the strikes won’t be felt in the Netherlands, but international trains heading to destinations such as Germany, Switzerland and Austria will be affected. ICE trains from the Netherlands to Cologne, Frankfurt and Basel are not running due to the strike.
The Amsterdam to Berlin Intercity train will also not run until January 12, and night trains between Amsterdam, Zurich, Innsbruck and Vienna will not run on January 10 or 11.
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