Train drivers union GDL resolves industrial action at the railway

Status: 23.06.2021 12:54 p.m.

With the beginning of the summer holidays in some federal states, rail passengers have to be prepared for strikes. The train drivers’ union GDL decided a labor dispute. The GDL intends to announce tomorrow exactly how it should look. At Deutsche Bahn, train driver strikes in the middle of the holiday season are getting closer. The union of German locomotive drivers (GDL) decided on concrete industrial action after failed negotiations with the employers’ association Move. GDL boss Claus Weselsky will not announce the exact scope and time of possible work stoppages until Thursday at a press conference in Berlin. According to the GDL, the corresponding committee resolutions are available. A railway spokeswoman asked the union to return to the negotiating table. There are well-founded offers for more wages and additional protection against dismissal on the table, about which the GDL top has so far refused serious negotiations.

First warning strike since December 2018

Immediately before the start of the school holidays in several federal states, the union is increasing the pressure on the management of the railway. The GDL declared the negotiations to have failed last Tuesday. It is the first warning strike on the railways since December 2018, when the Railway and Transport Union (EVG) called on its members to take part in a labor dispute. Both unions are fighting with each other for influence in the state company. The EVG had already reached a collective agreement last autumn. From the beginning of 2022, employees will receive 1.5 percent more money – little compared to collective bargaining rounds in better times. Compulsory redundancies are excluded until the end of 2023.

GDL wants more

The GDL wants to get more out of money and working hours. Both sides had moved somewhat towards each other before the failure of the negotiations. Based on the collective bargaining agreement for the public service, the GDL is calling for an income increase of 1.4 percent plus a corona bonus this year and a further 1.8 percent next year. The employees deserved more than compensation for the price increase, argues Weselsky.

According to its own statements, Deutsche Bahn had proposed increases in incomes as in the public sector, but in relation to the airport sector. An “emergency collective agreement” had been concluded for airports because of the slump in traffic. The 1.4 percent increase in income there will only be in October 2022, the other 1.8 percent not until April 2023. Employers will also have the option of reducing working hours by six percent in 2022. The level of the collective agreement for the public service is to be reached in October 2023

German armored locomotive

Before the battle, Hitler had never thought that the German army would be trapped in the Eastern Front and unable to extricate himself. According to his thoughts, the powerful German armored forces could end the Eastern Front in a short period of time. However, the reality did not develop according to his vision. The Germans on the Eastern Front were in a strategic stalemate with the Soviets. Germany had to mobilize a large amount of materials from the rear and transport them through a long railway line to meet the needs of the front-line troops. The Soviet guerrillas posed a huge threat to the German army on the long railway transportation line on the Eastern Route. They often smashed the railroad tracks and caused great troubles to the rear railway transportation of the German army. Sometimes the Soviet guerrillas even attacked the German army directly and seized military materials to supply themselves. The Germans urgently needed to find a countermeasure.

German armored train

Before the outbreak of World War II, the first German armored train in service was the escort train of the German railway department. The armored carriage was modified by adding 10mm bulletproof steel plate to the original freight carriage. It used a locomotive cockpit with a small amount of protective armor 57 type steam. Locomotive towing.

Early German armored train

The German army began to develop light and heavy armored reconnaissance locomotives used on railway lines in 1943. These armored locomotives can perform tasks alone and can also be connected in series to form an armored train fleet. They quickly maneuver along the rear railway line and once became the most popular Soviet guerrilla. Difficult goals.

Armored platoon at the end of World War II

German heavy armored trains usually consist of 12 different types of armored locomotives. The armored platoon is equipped with an armored command vehicle, two or three tactical armored carriages carrying machine guns, mortars, and infantry in series, and four are equipped with a No. 3 tank turret. Heavy reconnaissance armored locomotives, as well as other supporting anti-aircraft vehicles, flatbed trucks carrying motorized tanks, and so on.

Motorized Tank Lifting Platform Truck

The heavy reconnaissance armored locomotive weighs about 18 tons. The main weapon is a KwK L/24 short-tube 75mm artillery on the turret of a No. 3 or No. 4 tank. In addition to the turret coaxial machine gun, it also installs 4 MG34 machine guns. The car body is covered with 20mm thick steel armor, with inclined angles on all sides. Access hatches and observation windows are set on both sides of the car body. The crew members can also use light weapons to shoot outwards, and they can also leave the armored car for pursuit operations. This armor protection and firepower are already sufficient to withstand the attacks of the Soviet guerrillas.

German heavy armored locomotive

The engine of the armored locomotive is a 76-horsepower Steyr air-cooled gasoline engine, which can only reach 40 kilometers per hour on its own power. If it cruises at a slow speed of 20 kilometers per hour, its maximum range is about 700 kilometers.

Armored locomotive formation

The heavy armored reconnaissance locomotive also has a certain ability to fight alone. There are 7 crew members, including the commander, driver, loader and 4 gunners. In addition to daily patrols on transportation lines, it is generally organized to take the lead in front of freight vehicles to deter the Soviet guerrillas. It is more powerful in marshalling with other armored train tactical carriages, and can perform more combat tasks, and cooperate with the infantry to encircle and suppress Soviet guerrillas along the railway.

German armored train mobile defense

As a railway mobile armored vehicle, the heavy armored locomotive can rely on the railway for fast maneuvering. The railway itself limits its maneuvering route and range. However, it does greatly threaten the Soviet guerrillas and achieves this to the maximum. Weapons and equipment were designed for the purpose of the overall situation in the late World War II. If the overall situation was not good for the German army, the original production plan was not completed as scheduled. The actual quantity of this armored locomotive equipment is unknown, and it can still play a strong defensive role until Germany finally surrenders. .

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