German train strike ends early

Though the GDL union ended its strike 34 hours early, service won't return right to normal. The union cut short its four-day action at 6 p.m. (1700 UTC) Saturday to allow for travel to celebrations marking the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall - but also let it go just long enough to cost the bosses over $125 million.

"The damage so far adds up to more than 100 million euros and will have an equivalent impact on our annual accounts," Deutsche Bahn chief Rüdiger Grube told the newspaper Bild am Sonntag. "Not to mention the damage to our image and the loss of trust."

GDL members walked out on Wednesday in the sixth round of the strike, first refusing to carry cargo and then expanding the stoppage to passenger service on Thursday, with about a third of long-distance trains cut, and initially planning to continue the action through to 4 a.m. Monday. The 20,000-member union has sought a 5 percent pay increase and a shorter workweek from Deutsche Bahn, as well as the right to negotiate for other staff: food servers, conductors and dispatchers, for example.

Claus Weselsky, the head of the GDL union, called Saturday's early end a "gesture of reconciliation."

'Adjust my forecasts'

Deutsche Bahn transports 5.5 million passengers each day on commuter trains and high-speed lines that crisscross the country, as well as about one-fifth of German freight. Economists estimate a strike of more than three days could cost the economy - and not just Deutsche Bahn - up to 100 million euros a day if assembly lines have to shut because of supply shortages. German Labor Office chief Frank-Jürgen Weise said such a strike could severely damage the economy.

"A longer strike - and I would have to adjust my forecasts for the labor market," Weise told German radio.

Despite the deep hit to Deutsche Bahn and the overall negative economic impact, the strike did give a boost to other forms of travel. A spokesman for the online car-sharing portal mitfahrgelegenheit.de said that passengers had booked 250,000 places on Friday, compared with an average Friday booking rate of 100,000. Germany's taxi and car hire association reported a rise in business of 40 to 50 percent.

Deutsche Bahn has announced that it will have about 60 percent of its regular traffic back up and running by Sunday. Long-distance trains especially will continue to see service cuts, but shorter routes will see a dramatic increase in runs.

mkg/nm (Reuters, AFP, dpa, AP)