After the strike: traffic in Berlin and Brandenburg restarted
Following the 20-hour warning strike by the German Train Drivers' Union (GDL), rail traffic in Berlin and Brandenburg is largely running smoothly again. "Long-distance and regional trains have been running according to the regular timetable again almost everywhere since the start of operations in the early morning," announced Deutsche Bahn on Friday morning. The GDL had officially declared the warning strike over at 6pm on Thursday evening. However, some restrictions were still to be expected in the hours that followed. It was not until the start of operations on Friday morning that things resumed nationwide without any major impact from the warning strike.
In Berlin and Brandenburg, regional and suburban rail services were particularly affected. Regional trains only ran sporadically, and the railroad offered replacement buses on some routes. The Berlin S-Bahn ensured at least a 20-minute interval on the S3, S46, S5 and S9 lines to the outer districts.
The transport company Odeg also experienced cancellations. The Ostdeutsche Eisenbahngesellschaft was not directly affected by the strike. However, because the train dispatchers were also called out on industrial action, there were restrictions across the entire infrastructure. However, traffic at Odeg should also run smoothly again on Friday.
The Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) were not affected by the warning strike - buses and subway trains in Berlin ran as usual on Thursday.
Despite the resumption of normal operations on trains nationwide, consumers may still face tariff increases due to the strike. Additionally, the temporary disruptions in railroad traffic could potentially lead to increased traffic on alternative modes of transportation, such as buses or cars, affecting overall traffic flow in Berlin and Brandenburg.
Source: www.dpa.com
