The German trade union EVG called for a warning strike from Sunday to Tuesday. However, a compromise was reached with Deutsche Bahn (DB) on Saturday afternoon. The strike was then suspended.
But the suspension came too late for those involved in rail freight. "On Monday, 30 per cent of our trains did not run," says Armin Riedl, CEO of Kombiverkehr, to the Deutsche Verkehrs-Zeitung. One of the reasons he gives is that many trains run internationally and partner companies abroad have already reduced their capacity for Monday. This meant that it was no longer possible to synchronise the timetable. "Monday was like a small strike day for us," says Armin Riedl for this magazine.
KSW Kreisbahn Siegen-Wittgenstein also experienced disruptions as a result of the cancelled strike. About a third of its traffic is intercity and was completely cancelled on Monday. Of the two-thirds of regional trains, especially single-car services, a third did not run, according to managing director Christian Betchen. He estimates the resulting losses at a "mid-five-figure sum".
The Potsdam railway is also struggling with losses. "We cancelled seven trains on Monday," says Mathias Tenisson, CEO of Eisenbahngesellschaft Potsdam. He cites the example of trains carrying building materials. The wagons had to be organised and moved in advance, which was not possible at such short notice - even though his staff worked over the weekend and tried to keep downtime to a minimum. He estimated the loss of revenue at €150,000.
The cancelled strike also affected Bentheimer Eisenbahn (BE). The company serves customers on the last mile of its own Bentheim-Coevorden line. But with some inbound freight trains already cancelled, BE was unable to maintain all its connections. Joachim Berends, a member of BE's board of directors, fears that this uncertainty could lead customers to switch back to lorries.
Their words were echoed by rail giant Deutsche Bahn. "The current operational situation is unacceptable for us, for travellers and for railway companies," a DB spokesperson told DW.
Armin Riedl, CEO of Kombiverkehr, urges both sides to reach an agreement as soon as possible: "A long period of uncertainty is poison for the economy," he concludes for DVZ magazine.
Source: Association of Forwarding & Logistics of the Czech Republic
