German rail strike called off, but new dispute looms

German railways operator Deutsche Bahn today announced an end to a drivers strike that had paralysed train travel in Europe's biggest economy, after the feuding sides agreed to mediation.
But fresh trouble appeared to be brewing elsewhere, as the biggest rail union threatened industrial action if a pay deal was not reached soon.
While Deutsche Bahn (DB) said it would probably take until Saturday for normal services to resume, "millions of rail passengers can breathe a sigh of relief".
"The GdL (train driver union) strike is over with immediate effect," it said in a statement, adding that the company and the union had agreed overnight to have a mediator appointed to settle their months-long dispute over wages, work hours and negotiating rights.

DB said it was "pulling out all the stops" for services to return to normal as soon as possible.
"This could take some time," said DB's head of personnel Ulrich Weber.

"While regional and local trains can be expected to return to normal as early as Friday, the process will take longer in long-distance services because of the more complex planning needed for personnel and trains," Weber said.
Long-distance services were expected to return to normal by Saturday.
GdL, for its part, said it expected all of its members to have returned to work by 7:00 pm (1700 GMT) today.

GdL said management had conceded to one of its key demands, namely that a deal would not be dependent on whatever agreements were reached with other unions.
The GdL, which represents some 20,000 train drivers, is demanding a wage rise and shorter work hours as well as the right to represent other rail workers such as conductors and restaurant carriage staff.