German Rail is on strike?

Looks like the locomotive drivers are at it again. The strike is from 2 AM Wednesday until 9 PM Thursday. Freight trains might also be involved. Some trains are running on a restricted timetable.

The DW World news website is an interesting/useful perspective on world and Germany events.

http://www.dw.de/further-rail-strikes-in-germany/a-18397349
21.4.2015
Further rail strikes in Germany
After freight train strikes, Germany’s train drivers’ will also interrupt passenger service as of Wednesday. While a substitute schedule has been put into place, travelers should still expect delays and cancellations.
The strike for passenger trains begins on Wednesday at 2:00 a.m. and continues until Thursday at 9 p.m. An internet link has been set up to inform passengers about schedule changes up to 12 hours in advance of planned departure. In cases of delay exceeding 60 minutes, ticket holders may forgo travel and are thus eligible for a full refund.
Regional, intercity and urban rail services (S-bahn) will also be affected in and around Berlin. A replacement schedule and the information updates will be posted on Twitter. About 30 percent of regular service is to be maintained. The strike will not affect bus or underground subway (U-bahn) service in the capital.
Further information is also available at bahn.de/aktuell. There customers can find replacement schedules for regional trains or they can call the Deutsche Bahn service number to receive updates regarding timetable information. The number is 0180 6996633 (20 cents/call from a landline, mobile rates up to 60 cents/call). Another Deutsche Bahn service number (08000 99 66 33) is available to customers free of charge.

http://www.bahn.de/p/view/home/info/ersatzfahrplan.shtml

http://www.dw.de/german-train-drivers-announce-another-strike/a-18394926
20.4.2015
Germany's GDL train drivers' union has said it will hold multi-day strikes on passenger and freight trains this week which will cause severe disruptions to state-owned railway Deutsche Bahn's train services.
The union announced Monday that the strike would begin at 2 a.m. (0000 GMT) local time on Wednesday and last for 43 hours, while the freight train strike would start at 3 p.m. (1300 GMT) on Tuesday and last for 66 hours.
The seventh industrial action by train drivers within just 10 months follows the breakdown of negotiations over pay and conditions between the union and rail operator Deutsche Bahn (DB). GDL represents about 20,000 of DB's nearly 200,000 workers.
Stressing that train drivers were tired of being "mocked" by DB management, GDL chief Claus Weselsky accused the company of not really wanting to negotiate. "Where there is no will, there is no way," he said.
DB management has rejected the allegations, calling on GDL to return to the negotiating table. DB board member Ulrich Weber said nobody could understand these strikes.
"GDL could have got nearly everything it wanted from talks but what happens? GDL causes more damage to Bahn customers and DB," he added.
German businesses counting cost of rail strike
Main problem unresolved
The GDL, the smaller of two main train drivers' unions in Germany, is demanding a 5 percent pay hike and one hour less work per week. But another major sticking point has been the union's demand to negotiate on behalf of all on-board personnel, as opposed to just train drivers and engineers.
Negotiations on salaries have proven difficult for DB because it is simultaneously discussing tariff changes with EVG, another union representing rail and transport employees. The rail operator argues that it is trying to create comparably fair contracts for members of both trade unions.
Millions of commuters and travelers ride the railway each day, relying on high-speed lines that crisscross the country. About one-fifth of German freight is also transported by rail. Economists estimate a train strike of more than three days could cost the economy up to 100 million euros ($130 million) a day if assembly lines have to shut because of supply shortages.

We are going from Kulmbach to Regensburg this morning. We have connections. Hope that they hold. I see several alternative routes had cancellations. We are currently in Bamberg.

An alternative was to take a private connection thru Weiden. Sorry that I did not make that choice as there were back ups if we were late at a transfer point.

We made it thru Nürnberg. Unfortunately, there was an accident down the line and our train is stranded at some small station waiting for...

I have to wonder what happens if we are delayed beyond the strike onset - 2:00 PM. This is the third time in the last 3 years that our rail trip has been interrupted by an accident. Both the other times it turned out to be an ordeal.

We made it before 2PM. No chance for the train to turn into a pumpkin. Several folks got off and caught something back toNürnberg. The original destination of this train was Munich but they had shorten the destination to Landshut before we even boarded.

We rode the last couple stops with only 2 other folks in the car. We are going to Freising in a couple days. We may have to get creative.

My daughter ended up taking a long distance bus from Leipzig to Dortmund today as the train she had a ticket for was cancelled. Long bus ride with an additional 1 hour delay .... However, that allowed her to connect with a regional train in Dortmund to get to her final destination. That one was on a restricted schedule running only every second train.

She will be able to get reimbursed for the ticket she couldn't use today!