German train strikes meet resignation, dismay in Cologne

The young woman with a heavy-looking backpack standing between platform 6 and 7 was clearly weighing her options. Standing right in front of the screen listing the next departures from Cologne Central Station, she glanced down at her phone and back up to the screen again. Finally, she made her decision — and had a few minutes to speak with DW.

Alice, 25, lives in Paris and was trying to visit a friend in Berlin. Her connection was canceled after GDL, the German train drivers union, called on its members to strike.

"I've been planning this trip for months and now I have to reorganize everything," she said. She doesn't know what the strike is about.

"If I were at home, I might support it, but not as a traveler," she said.

Then a regional express train arrived, which she hoped will enable her to catch another train to the capital. "I've got 10 minutes to change trains and I'm afraid it won't work," she said.

Striking for a 35-hour week

Deutsche Bahn, the German state-owned railway company, has announced that between Wednesday and Friday, perhaps just 20% of long-distance trains will run. GDL has called for better pay and also a reduction of weekly work hours from 38 to 35. DB, by far Germany's largest train operator, is so far only offering the option of reduced hours for reduced pay.

Late last year, GDL already staged two warning strikes. DB failed in last-ditch attempts to have the current strike prevented by court order. As a result, hardly any trains were leaving Cologne Central Station, normally one of Germany's busiest rail hubs, on Wednesday.

On platform 2, a middle-aged man who asked to be identified only by his surname, Blum, was not impressed by the strike.

"If we keep getting lazier in this country, how can there be progress?," Blum asked. "I live in England, there you can see where it is all headed. The country has run itself into the ground because everyone is just making demands."

Blum had just arrived in Cologne on the Eurostar from London and planned to continue on a privately operated regional train. At least in theory: the departure time shown on the board had already passed, but the train still wasn't there.

"DB should at least manage to update this kind of information," said Blum, bemoaning the lack of digitization. "No wonder there's no money for a 35-hour week."

DB needs to attract new drivers, striker warns

Just outside the station were dozens of men and women wearing green jackets who would disagree with Blum. In a green pavilion, GDL has set up its picket line headquarters, complete with a heater to fend off the January cold. Strikers can sign in on folding tables.

Among the strikers' ranks was Raymond Geisler, who has been working for DB in the Cologne area since completing his training in 2015. New train drivers are urgently needed, he told DW.

"We can't just keep pushing existing staff to the maximum, we need intelligent solutions to fill this gap in the long term," said Geisler. "That only works if we make these jobs attractive."

None of DB's ideas have worked so far, according to Geisler. That's why he supports the gradual move to a 35-hour week.

He's sorry the strikes are affecting passengers, though. Especially since German farmers protesting cuts to diesel subsidies have also caused travel chaos this week, shutting down road traffic with tractor convoys.

"We don't want to harm customers, that's not our aim," he said. "But we have no other way of emphasizing our demands."

Resignation, head-shaking — and perhaps a more comfortable trip

Back inside the station, it seems most people had resigned themselves to the situation. There was hardly any activity at the information desk; DB set up a free hotline in advance and announced a goodwill policy for returning tickets that had already been purchased. The display boards were only showing trains that were actually running.

A woman who gave only her surname, Reschke, and whose white hair was peeking out from under her warm fleece hat, didn't seem too put out when she spoke with DW. "The S-Bahn [suburban rail system] runs once an hour, so I basically have no disadvantages from the strike today," she said.

Although Reschke doesn't want to deny the GDL the right to strike, she is somewhat skeptical.

"The main thing they're after, the reduction in working hours, it would only work if there are enough people to do it," she said. "But there's a lack of staff! That doesn't make sense!"

On a nearby platform, a man in his mid-50s said he is generally in favor of GDL's demand for a four-day week, but that calling for it shouldn't stop people from traveling by train who really need to. His train to Dusseldorf was running, however. And thanks to the strike, he was expecting a comfortable trip.

"There's hardly anybody here," he said. "There'll be a lot of space on the train. That's nice."

This text was originally written in German.