Berlin, Hamburg Commuters Delayed as Union Strikes

RED Card - A Deutsche Bahn employee at Berlin train station

Travel for commuters in Berlin and Hamburg was disrupted today as the GDL train drivers' union, barred by a court from interrupting German freight and long- distance services, went on strike to reinforce its pay demands.

S-Bahn, or commuter rail, services were affected from 8 a.m. until 10 a.m. local time in both cities as the union pressed its case for Deutsche Bahn AG to award raises of as much as 31 percent for 20,000 drivers and 10,000 ticketing staff. Together, the capital and the northern port city have more than 5 million inhabitants.

Commuter delays in Germany's two biggest cities are the opening salvo in a dispute between the state-owned railway and GDL that the Berlin-based DIW economic institute said might cause revenue losses of 500 million euros ($690 million) a day.

"German train drivers are at the bottom of the pay scale in Europe,'' Hans-Joachim Kernchen, a union member who organized the strikes in Berlin, said in an interview today. "Even the Italians earn a few hundred euros more.''

The industrial action comes a day after a labor court in the southern city of Nuremberg dashed the union's plan to stage the first open-ended rail strike in Germany in 15 years. It barred strikes until Sept. 30, though not on local passenger services. GDL yesterday appealed the court ruling.

Show of Strength

Berlin and Hamburg are the only two "white spots'' where the union is allowed to strike, Bernd Weiler, a spokesman for Deutsche Bahn, said in an interview. "Clearly they wanted to show us their strength.''

The two sides are talking and trying to find an arbiter they can both agree on to mediate further talks, said Weiler.

The GDL favors Heiner Geissler, a one-time chairman of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union who has since joined anti-capitalist group Attac, N-TV television reported. Geissler acted as mediator in a pay dispute last year at Deutsche Telekom AG, Europe's biggest phone company.

Former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who previously mediated a Bahn dispute, would also be a suitable candidate, Kurt Bodewig, a former transport minister, said in an interview yesterday.

GDL rejected a 4.5 percent pay rise accepted by two other rail unions, Transnet and GBDA. An offer providing for "better wage prospects'' beyond the 4.5 percent proposed, along with improved career opportunities, might form the basis of a compromise, Margret Suckale, Deutsche Bahn human resources director, said yesterday.

Change of Tactic

GDL's decision to disrupt commuter services marks a change of tactic after the union initially said it would provide 24 hours notice for any action affecting passenger services. It only announced the action last night.

"It was important that we do this at short notice so that it could have the maximum impact,'' said Kernchen. "At least we've given people a chance to get to work.''

At Berlin's main train station, only two commuter trains, operated by non-unionized drivers, collected passengers between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m., according to Ingo Hoffmann, a 34-year-old S- Bahn driver who has worked for Deutsche Bahn in the capital since 1989, the year the Berlin Wall fell.

"This strike has been a huge success and we've been able to disrupt things more than we expected,'' he said. Hoffmann and another colleague wore white plastic tops inscribed with GDL's logo and handed out leaflets outlining their demands to the few passengers waiting on platform 13 at the Hauptbahnhof, Europe's biggest multilevel station.

Wage Comparison

Train drivers earn about 1,500 euros a month net on average, less than their counterparts in neighboring France or Switzerland, according to the union.

Many passengers were unsure why the trains were delayed and most waited patiently for one to arrive.

"I've been waiting for about 25 minutes,'' said Fabio Dentella, a 34-year-old Italian filmmaker living in Berlin trying to make his way to the western part of the city. "Can you tell me what's going on?''

The union wants "to make clear to the board of Deutsche Bahn that we expect a negotiable pay offer,'' Manfred Schell, GDL chairman, said in a statement on the union's Web site.

GDL, established in 1867, is Germany's oldest union, and has seen out the Weimar Republic as well as the Nazi and communist regimes of last century, according to Kernchen.

Train, Gala Wallpaper

Train, Gala wallpapers: In rail transport, a train consists of a single or several connected rail vehicles that are capable of being moved together along a guideway to transport freight or passengers from one place to another along a planned route. The guideway (permanent way) usually consists of conventional rail tracks, but might also be monorail or maglev. Propulsion for the train is typically provided by a separate locomotive, or from individual motors in self-propelled multiple units. Power is usually derived from diesel engines or from electricity supplied by trackside systems. Historically the steam engine was the dominant form of locomotive power, and other sources of power (such as horses, pneumatics, or gas turbines) are possible as well. In American railway terminology, a consist is used to describe the group of rail vehicles which make up a train. There are various types of trains designed for particular purposes, see rail transport operations. A train can consist of a combination of a locomotive and attached railroad cars, or a self-propelled multiple unit (or occasionally a single powered coach, called a railcar). Trains can also be hauled by horses, pulled by a cable, or run downhill by gravity. Special kinds of trains running on corresponding special 'railways' are atmospheric railways, monorails, high-speed railways, Dinky Trains, maglev, rubber-tired underground, funicular and cog railways. A passenger train may consist of one or several locomotives, and one or more coaches. Alternatively, a train may consist entirely of passenger carrying coaches, some or all of which are powered as a "multiple unit". In many parts of the world, particularly Japan and Europe, high-speed rail is utilized extensively for passenger travel. Freight trains comprise wagons or trucks rather than carriages, though some parcel and mail trains (especially Travelling Post Offices) are outwardly more like passenger trains. In the United Kingdom, a train hauled by two locomotives is said to be "double-headed", and in Canada and the United States it is quite common for a long freight train to be headed by three, four, or even five locomotives. Trains can also be mixed, hauling both passengers and freight, see e.g. Transportation in Mauritania. Such mixed trains became rare in many countries, but were commonplace on the first 19th-century railroads. Special trains are also used for track maintenance; in some places, this is called maintenance of way. A single uncoupled rail vehicle is not technically a train, but is usually referred to as such for signaling reasons.
There are various types of trains designed for particular purposes, see rail transport operations. A train can consist of a combination of a locomotive and attached railroad cars, or a self-propelled multiple unit (or occasionally a single powered coach, called a railcar). Trains can also be hauled by horses, pulled by a cable, or run downhill by gravity. Special kinds of trains running on corresponding special 'railways' are atmospheric railways, monorails, high-speed railways, Dinky Trains, maglev, rubber-tired underground, funicular and cog railways. A passenger train may consist of one or several locomotives, and one or more coaches. Alternatively, a train may consist entirely of passenger carrying coaches, some or all of which are powered as a "multiple unit". In many parts of the world, particularly Japan and Europe, high-speed rail is utilized extensively for passenger travel. Freight trains comprise wagons or trucks rather than carriages, though some parcel and mail trains (especially Travelling Post Offices) are outwardly more like passenger trains. In the United Kingdom, a train hauled by two locomotives is said to be "double-headed", and in Canada and the United States it is quite common for a long freight train to be headed by three, four, or even five locomotives. Trains can also be mixed, hauling both passengers and freight, see e.g. Transportation in Mauritania. Such mixed trains became rare in many countries, but were commonplace on the first 19th-century railroads. Special trains are also used for track maintenance; in some places, this is called maintenance of way. A single uncoupled rail vehicle is not technically a train, but is usually referred to as such for signaling reasons.