[AMcWhirter]

I thought I ought to advise readers of this long strike starting tomorrow.

https://www.euronews.com/travel/2024/01/22/germany-rail-strikes-train-travel-disruption-to-continue-into-2024

DB is facing a troubled time. Not only with labour relations but also with its poor reliability. Its prestigious ICE trains, for which a premium is charged, regularly run late.

Despite DB and Eurostar being members of RailTeam (an alliance of rail operators) the latter is doing nothing to assist.

I mean airlines of the same alliance tend to help one another.

This shows how backward is the airline industry in mainland Europe.

Here in the UK the rail operators will invariably step in with ticket acceptance … even if they are rivals (here I think of LNER with Grand Central).

Rail expert @AndyBTravels tweeted the following:

Here we go again @seatsixtyone @SimonCalder @McWhirterAlex https://t.co/xjuzp0ymJO

— AndyBTravels (@AndyBTravels) January 23, 2024

[AMcWhirter]

*Correction* Strike starts on January 24 which is Wednesday.

[Rferguson2]

I got caught up in the DB strike in December which made it a nightmare getting from FRA airport to the city centre. All of a sudden ride hail services were in the region of 100 euros instead of the usual 30.

Whilst DB still needs to provide a minimum service by law in Germany, their unions do not have to give the seven days notice of strike action as required here in the UK. Which leads to absolute bedlam as to make their industrial action all the more effective they tend to announce the strike the day before it occurs making it virtually impossible to make alternative plans.

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AMcWhirter

[AMcWhirter]

Later this afternoon EU Transport @Transport-EU tweeted/X “We have no time to lose in making transport & mobility more sustainable, safer, more accessible and more resilient.”

That’s all good but there’s no mention of rail passengers’ rights.

This is something Mark Smith is concerned about.

The rail industry must pull together to minimise impact on those who have chosen rail, not air, between the UK & Germany. This is precisely why current #railpassengerrights are *inadequate* for through journeys which have to be made on separate tickets. https://t.co/AziZ7ErIPu

— The Man in Seat 61 (@seatsixtyone) January 23, 2024

[jjlasne]

Same thing with the TGV in France. I have a friend who now lives in the South of France and regularly takes the TGV to Paris for jobs. The last train he took was 3 and a half hours late. I reckon that’ s about the time it takes to reach the destination. Ironically, the government wants everyone to take the train and stop flying short hops/commuter flights – they even brought back intercity motorcoaches such as Flixbus and Blablacar. Meanwhile, France went all electric starting in the 1970’s with around 50 nuclear power plants and currently “forcing” people into electric cars (same thing in California where I reside) while running out of electricity last year (!) and increasing its rates.

[AMcWhirter]

In fact jjlasne when AF requested and was granted Euros 7 billion in state aid in April 2020 the French gov’t had to agree to restrict short domestic flights to suit the EU’s ‘green’ agenda.

See “Air France told not to compete with the TGV” which we posted online on April 30, 2020.

But all is not as it seems.

The effect has been to cancel just *three* routes served from Paris Orly.

All flights, irrespective of length, remain unchanged out of Paris CDG.

Why you might ask ?

Simply because, as with other major European airlines, AF depends on a large hub airport for long-haul flights.

Therefore feeder flights are needed to fill its aircraft.

Ironically CDG has its own rail station, from which TGVs operate to many domestic points, but airlines (although they don’t like to admit it) would rather not entrust their feed passengers to other transport mode.

[justloveflying]

What really gets me, is that all throughout covid19, transport and hospitality was hit the hardest.

People had no jobs or lost jobs.

To read of Airline, ATC and Rail staff who then strike and thereby impact the very guests they are meant to serve, is questionable.

Is costing your organisation thousands of pounds really the way to make your point heard ?

I feel such people should think about why they took the job, what they hope to achieve by creating disruption and what the end game is.

Moral of the story – put your concerns to HR and be grateful to have a job.

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