Tag: rail ‘

Germany braces for fresh rail, air travel strikes

By Michelle FITZPATRICK FRANKFURT, Germany, March 4, 2024 (AFP) – German travellers braced for fresh upheaval after unions on Monday called for renewed walkouts at Lufthansa and rail operator Deutsche Bahn, the latest escalation in a series of rows over inflation-busting pay rises. Lufthansa ground staff will stage a two-day strike from Thursday, the Verdi union announced, accusing management at the airline group of showing “no willingness” to come up with an improved offer. The […]

German train drivers’ union calls six-day strike

FRANKFURT, Germany, Jan 22, 2024 (AFP) – German train drivers will hold a six-day strike this week, the GDL union said, the longest walkout yet in an escalating row with Deutsche Bahn over pay and working hours. The strike is due to start at 2:00 am (0100 GMT) on Wednesday and last until 1700 GMT on Monday. For freight services, the stoppage is due to begin at 1700 GMT on Tuesday, GDL said in a […]

Eleven killed in tragic train-minibus collision in Indonesia

JAKARTA, Nov 19, 2023 (AFP) – A collision between a train and a minibus at a level crossing in the east of Indonesia’s most populous island Java on Sunday killed at least 11 people and injured several others, an official told local media. The train was travelling towards the port city of Surabaya when it hit a minibus carrying a dozen passengers at a crossing in the East Java city of Lumajang at around 8:00 […]

Two dead, 16 hurt in Egypt train accident: health ministry

QALYUB, Egypt (AFP) — Two people were killed and several others injured Tuesday in a train accident north of Cairo, Egypt’s health ministry said after the country’s latest rail tragedy. A ministry statement said there were “two dead in the train accident at Qalyub, while the injured are in a stable condition.” An earlier ministry toll that reported one dead also listed 16 injured, including six already treated and released. The incident occurred in Qalyub, […]

Pres. Biden signs emergency law forcing US rail unions to accept wages deal

Washington, United States (AFP) US President Joe Biden signed into law Friday a rare intervention by Congress forcing freight rail unions to accept a salary deal, avoiding a possibly devastating strike — but putting the pro-union Democrat in an awkward political position. Biden signed the law in a brief White House ceremony only a week before unions who had rejected the deal were expected to have gone on strike, threatening crucial supply chains across the […]

Congress must step in to prevent ‘devastating’ US rail strike: Biden

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Joe Biden on Monday called on Congress to intervene urgently to prevent a strike by railroad workers that he warned would “devastate our economy.” Biden asked Congress to deploy rarely used legislative powers to force adoption of a preliminary deal which freight rail companies and workers had struck in September before some of the trade unions backed off, returning to their threat to go on strike. While noting […]

German train drivers call strike in escalating wage dispute

BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — German train drivers voted to go on strike from Tuesday over a wage dispute, their union said, in a blow for summer vacationers and adding to logistics and supply woes already plaguing the industry. The walkout will affect cargo trains from 7 pm (1700 GMT) on Tuesday, before extending to passenger traffic at 2 am on Wednesday, said the leader of the train drivers’ GDL union, Claus Weselsky. Some 95 percent […]

DOTr reports 641 active COVID-19 cases among rail line personnel; COVID-19 mass testing still ongoing

(Eagle News) — There are over 600 active COVID-19 cases among rail line personnel so far. The 641 active cases were based on recent data released by the Department of Transportation, which had ordered the COVID-19 mass testing of all rail line personnel in a bid to ensure the safety of all commuters. The mass testing is still ongoing. The 641 active cases are broken down as follows: Light Rail Transit-1: 24 active cases LRT-2: […]

Eight hurt in Athens train derailment

ATHENS, Greece (AFP) — Eight passengers were injured in a train derailment outside of the Greek capital Athens Tuesday, emergency services said. An electric train linking the port of Piraeus near Athens to the northern suburbs derailed as it entered the station at Kifissia just after midday, according to initial reports from firefighters. “Seven women and one man were slightly injured and transferred as a precaution to two hospitals in Athens,” a manager of the […]

DOTr sets “new normal” guidelines for rail transport passengers

(Eagle News)–Commuters using rail transport may have to wait longer before boarding trains once public transportation resumes operations. This as the Department of Transportation announced it would implement a block system for managing the entry of passengers into the Light Rail Transit 1 and 2, Philippine National Railway and Metro Rail Transit 3 stations, platforms and trains which will operate in a reduced capacity in accordance with health protocols, and social distancing measures being enforced […]

15 dead as trains collide in Bangladesh

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AFP) — At least 15 people were killed and 58 others injured when two trains collided in eastern Bangladesh early Tuesday, police said. Three coaches were sent tumbling off the tracks at Mondolbhag station in the town of Kasba when a Dhaka-bound intercity train and a locomotive bound for Chittagong collided. “At least 15 people have been killed. And another 58 were injured. We have sent the injured to different hospitals in the […]

Light rail collision in Paris suburb injures 12

NANTERRE, France (AFP) — A rare light rail collision in a southwestern suburb of Paris on Monday evening left 12 people injured, one of them seriously, the fire brigade said. It was not known what caused the accident which took place between two stations in Issy-les-Moulineaux just after 9:00 pm (2000 GMT), a spokesman for Paris transport operator RATP told AFP. “Two vehicles collided with passengers on board. It appears that the one in front […]