Deutsche Bahn settles labour dispute

Trains in Germany are rolling again. ©Deutsche Bahn

In the past weeks, a labour dispute temporarily disrupted the German rail system. It is now settled. The union of train drivers GDL reached somewhat higher salaries plus a corona bonus. It also was confirmed as an official representative of certain Deutsche Bahn employees. This is a necessity for a trade union’s ability to negotiate under new federal legislation in Germany.

The strike had affected not only DB trains, but also some DB infrastructure that was used by other rail operators. As a result, it halted many passenger and freight services across central Europe. The new settlement will last for two years on the salary issue and will be permanent on the recognition issue. Read the statement of DB here (external link).

25 years after “Lugano contract”: Dissatisfaction about German rail connections with Switzerland

VCD: “Progress hampered by lack of German federal funding“ ©SBB/Gian Vaitl

In 1996, Germany and Switzerland had signed the “Lugano contract” about improvement of the German rail links towards the new trans-alpine rail connections in Switzerland. Upon the 25^th jubilee of that contract, Matthias Lieb, head of the Baden-Württemberg chapter of the Verkehrsclub Deutschland VCD e.V., an advocate for environmentally friendly transport, published a detailed scathing analysis of the results on the German side. For example, on only 61 of the 182 kilometers of rail track along the Upper Rhine a third and fourth track were finalized in the past 34 years since the work started. This seriously limits the efficiency of the new Gotthard and Lötschberg tunnels within the Rhine-Alpine corridor. Find the detailed comments here (external link).