Deutsche Bahn will be on strike by the GDL from Wednesday evening. This also has a massive impact on train traffic in North Rhine-Westphalia. What works – and what doesn’t.
Cologne – Deutsche Bahn will be on strike from Wednesday evening. The strike by the train drivers’ union GDL will cause massive restrictions on train traffic – also in North Rhine-Westphalia. The railway even recommends avoiding “non-essential trips”. But what impact does the rail strike have on North Rhine-Westphalia? 24RHEIN shows an overview of the planned cancellations and changes to the RE, RB and S-Bahn lines.
Rail strike announced: The data on the GDL strike
- Was? Train drivers strike on the railway
- When? November 15, 2023, from 10 p.m. to November 16, 2023, 6 p.m
- How many trains should there be? The railway wants to provide a “greatly reduced offer”. However, a lot of lines are canceled
Anyone who relies on the train to get to work or school will have to look for alternatives in many places on Thursday. Because regional transport, just like long-distance transport, will only be able to operate at a greatly reduced rate. “In any case, there will also be massive restrictions in regional transport,” the railway announced on Tuesday evening.
Rail strike in NRW: These RE and RB lines are completely canceled
The GDL strike will largely paralyze train traffic in North Rhine-Westphalia from Wednesday evening. There are massive cancellations on regional trains. However, only a few lines will still be served. An overview of which lines will be canceled throughout the strike period:
- KING8 (Mönchengladbach – Cologne – Cologne/Bonn Airport – Troisdorf – Bonn-Beuel – Koblenz)
- RE9 (Aachen – Cologne – Troisdorf – Au (Sieg) – Betzdorf – Siegen)
- RE12 (Cologne – Euskirchen – Gerolstein – Trier)
- RE16 (Iserlohn – Hagen – Witten – Bochum – Essen); A replacement service will be set up between Letmathe, Hagen and Bochum
- RB25 (Cologne – Overath – Engelskirchen – Marienheide – Meinerzhagen – Lüdenscheid)
- RB32 (Dortmund – Herne – Wanne-Eickel – Gelsenkirchen – Oberhausen – Duisburg)
- RB38 (Cologne Trade Fair/Deutz – Horrem – Bedburg); A replacement bus service will be set up between Bedburg and Horrem
- RE42 (Mönchengladbach – Krefeld – Duisburg – Essen); The long-haul Münster – Mönchengladbach route should still run
- RE49 (Wesel – Oberhausen – Essen – Wuppertal)
- RE57 (Dortmund – Arnsberg – Bestwig – Winterberg/Brilon Stadt)
- Source: zuginfo.nrw; Information provided without guarantee
Rail strike in North Rhine-Westphalia: These S-Bahn lines are completely canceled
There are also widespread disruptions in S-Bahn traffic. These lines are completely canceled:
- S2 (Dortmund – Herne – Essen/Recklinghausen)
- S3 (Oberhausen – Mülheim – Essen – Hattingen); A replacement bus service will be set up between Hattingen Mitte and Oberhausen
- S4 (Dortmund-Lütgendortmund – Dortmund-Dorstfeld – Unna)
- S5 (Hagen – Witten – Dortmund)
- S9 (Haltern/Recklinghausen – Gladbeck-West – Bottrop – Essen – Wuppertal – Hagen); A replacement bus service will be set up between Wuppertal-Vohwinkel and Essen Hbf as well as between Gladbeck West and Haltern/Recklinghausen
- S11 (Bergisch Gladbach – Cologne – Neuss – Düsseldorf – Düsseldorf Airport Terminal)
- S12 (Au (Sieg) – Hennef – Troisdorf – Cologne/Bonn Airport – Cologne – Horrem)
- S23/RB23 (Bonn – Rheinbach – Meckenheim – Euskirchen)
- Source: zuginfo.nrw; Information provided without guarantee
GDL strike: These NRW routes are also affected
In addition to the complete cancellations, there are also some rail lines that are supposed to be served despite the strike, but are only running with restrictions. These include the following:
- RE2 (Düsseldorf – Duisburg – Essen – Gelsenkirchen – Münster – Osnabrück): The trains only run between Osnabrück Hbf and Münster (Westf) Hbf
- RE17 (Hagen – Schwerte (Ruhr) – Bestwig – Warburg – Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe): The trains only run between Hagen and Bestwig
- RB20 (Stolberg/Alsdorf – Herzogenrath – Aachen – Stolberg – Stolberg Altstadt/Düren): The trains run every 60 minutes between Alsdorf-Annapark and Stolberg
- RB24 (Cologne – Euskirchen – Kall/Gerolstein): The trains only run every 60 minutes
- RB27 (Mönchengladbach – Rommerskirchen – Cologne – Troisdorf – Bonn-Beuel – Koblenz): The trains only run every two hours
- RB30/RB39 (Ahrbrück – Remagen – Bonn): The trains are canceled between Bonn and Remagen and only run every 120 minutes between Remagen and Walporzheim
- RB33 (Aachen/Heinsberg – Lindern – Mönchengladbach – Krefeld – Duisburg – Essen): The trains only run every two hours between Aachen and Mönchengladbach. Replacement buses run every 60 minutes between Heinsberg and Lindern
- S1 (Dortmund – Essen – Duisburg – Düsseldorf – Solingen): The trains run every 60 minutes
- S6 (Cologne-Worringen – Cologne – Düsseldorf – Ratingen – Essen): The trains run every 60 minutes between Essen Hbf and Cologne-Hansaring
- S8 (Hagen – Wuppertal – Düsseldorf – Neuss – Mönchengladbach): The trains run every 60 minutes
- S19 (Au (Sieg) – Hennef – Troisdorf – Cologne/Bonn Airport – Cologne – Horrem – Düren): The trains run every 60 minutes
- Source: zuginfo.nrw; Information provided without guarantee
Strike at the railway: These DB routes in North Rhine-Westphalia should still run
Deutsche Bahn wants to operate some train lines in North Rhine-Westphalia regularly despite the GDL strike. The list is short, however. Nevertheless, commuters here may still have the best chance of taking a train ride during the strike:
- RE34 (Dortmund – Siegen): The trains continue to run
- RE42 (Mönchengladbach – Krefeld – Duisburg – Essen – Gelsenkirchen – Münster): Only the long route between Mönchengladbach and Münster
- Source: zuginfo.nrw; Information provided without guarantee
Rail strike could be just the beginning of a wave of strikes
The good news for all rail travelers: The strike is still relatively short at 20 hours. The GDL has had significantly longer industrial disputes in recent years. The bad news: There has only been one round of negotiations in the current collective bargaining dispute between Bahn and GDL and yet there is an immediate strike – before the second negotiation on Thursday (November 16th).
The fronts have already hardened significantly. “The employees are very dissatisfied,” said GDL boss Claus Weselsky on Tuesday evening, justifying the strike. The railway reacted uncomprehendingly. “This is an unreasonable expectation for rail passengers. This strike is completely unnecessary,” said DB Human Resources Director Martin Seiler.
In the collective bargaining, the GDL is demanding, among other things, 555 euros more per month for employees as well as an inflation compensation bonus of up to 3,000 euros. The biggest sticking point is already the demand for a reduction in weekly working hours from 38 to 35 hours for shift workers with full wage compensation. The railway has so far categorically rejected such a reduction in working hours. (bs) Fairly and independently informed about what is happening in Cologne, Düsseldorf and North Rhine-Westphalia – subscribe to our free 24RHEIN newsletter here.
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