Hundreds of thousands of people faced train cancellations across Germany from Wednesday, as a three-day nationwide rail strike added to travel chaos in Europe’s largest economy, where farmers’ protests have blocked highways and snarled traffic.
The strikes, called by the GDL train drivers’ union from Wednesday to Friday evening, have forced national rail operator Deutsche Bahn to run only stripped-back emergency timetables.
One in five long-distance high-speed rail services were running and regional services have been “massively thinned out”, a Deutsche Bahn spokesperson told reporters at Berlin’s central station, empty of its usual crowds.
At Cologne railway station in western Germany, commuters wrapped up against freezing temperatures checked departure boards for timetable changes.
The strikes and protests add to pressure on Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition government, which faces growing economic problems, including weak macroeconomic data, high interest rates and a budget mess.
Cargo train drivers are also striking until Friday, leading to supply chain concerns, with almost one-fifth of German freight traffic transported via railway.
