Which transport services are impacted by strikes in Germany this week?

Public transport services and flights are disrupted by industrial action in Germany this week. Here’s what passengers need to know:

Transport strikes in multiple German states

Travellers and commuters face a fresh round of strikes on public transport and at one German airport on March 16, 17, 18 and 19.

On Monday, transport employees in Saxony were the first to strike, halting services from Regiobus Mittelsachsen and Regionalverkehr Westsachsen. Both have now resumed normal service.

However, on Tuesday, transport services in Saxony run by Görlitzer Verkehrsbetriebe, Regionalbus Oberlausitz and DB Regio Bus Ost in Zittau are disrupted. On Tuesday, buses and trams will not run in much of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous German federal state.

S-Bahn services and regional trains will continue to run normally across Germany on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. This is because they are both operated by Deutsche Bahn rather than local transport associations.

BER Airport and NRW maintenance workers strike on Wednesday

On Wednesday, bus and tram services in North Rhine-Westphalia should resume. However, ver.di has called on transport maintenance employees in the western federal state to strike, so passengers may still experience disruptions.

Alongside the local transport strikes, 2.000 staff at BER Airport in Berlin will also strike on Wednesday. All flights scheduled for Wednesday have been cancelled. Passengers should contact their airline for information about rebooking their flight.

Coordinated public transport strike on Thursday

The most widespread transport strike will take place on Thursday, when employees across North Rhine-Westphalia, Bavaria and Hamburg walk out. Residents in North Rhine-Westphalia should check their local transport association website to see which services are running.

In Bavaria, local transport services in Augsburg, Passau, Landshut, Munich, Nuremberg, Bayreuth, Bamberg, Regensburg and Dachau will all come to a standstill. In Hamburg, bus and U-Bahn services will not run between 3am on Thursday and 3am on Friday.

There was previously a question mark hanging over whether transport employees in Hesse, Brandenburg and Bremen would also down tools. Ver.di has now confirmed that local transport employees in these three federal states will not participate in the coordinated strike, so services will run as normal in Hesse, Brandenburg and Bremen on Thursday.

Over the course of the day on Tuesday, ver.di is expected to announce whether transport employees in Saarland will join the coordinated strike on Thursday.