24-hour public transport strike grinds Berlin to a halt

Anyone attempting to travel anywhere in Berlin today should expect widespread disruption as staff at Berlin’s transport association, the Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) stage a 24-hour strike. While the city’s S-Bahn is apparently running smoothly, anyone driving or heading to the airport faces long delays.  

Berlin S-Bahn running smoothly

The latest strike initiated by Verdi, the union representing Berlin’s public transport workers, began this morning at 3:30am and is expected to last all day. As BVG is only responsible for certain parts of the city’s public transport system - namely bus, U-Bahn and tram services -  many lines are still running as normal.

Anticipating overcrowding, long-distance train operator Deutsche Bahn has laid on plenty of extra S-Bahn and regional trains. So far, these services seem to be coping well with the extra passengers. However, to be on the safe side, passengers are being advised to allow an extra 30 minutes to complete their journeys.

Chaos for airport-bound passengers

While things are running fairly smoothly on the S-Bahns, passengers travelling to Tegel airport have been badly affected by the strike. As Tegel is difficult to reach without using BVG services, emergency shuttle buses between S-Bahn Jungfernheide and Tegal have been laid on between 5am and midnight.

However, they have reportedly become so crowded that some passengers are opting to walk the 3,1km distance to the airport instead. Traffic around Tegel is so dense that the normally 10-minute journey is taking around 30 minutes. Anyone travelling to the airport should therefore allow plenty of extra time to get there.

Long traffic jams across Berlin

If you were thinking of opting for a car or a taxi instead, be warned: conditions for drivers aren’t much better. The Berliner Morgenpost is reporting traffic jams of up to an hour around Köpenick, Kreuzberg, Wedding and Charlottenburg-Nord. There is also gridlock in all directions around Alexanderplatz.

At Tegel airport, cars have ground to such a standstill that the traffic lights have reportedly been switched off and the police brought in to resolve the chaos. If you need to get anywhere today, taking the S-Bahn or going by bike is probably your best bet... at least the weather’s fine!

BVG negotiations - more strikes expected

This is the third in a series of “warning strikes” by Verdi, which began in mid-February over salaries and working conditions for BVG’s 14.600 employees in Berlin. A half-day shutdown took place in mid-February and, just over two weeks ago, Berlin’s bus drivers went on strike.

BVG’s latest offer was rejected by the union last Thursday, prompting today’s action. Negotiations have since resumed, but if a deal cannot be reached we can look forward to even more travel disruption.