Union laments locomotive shortage 26/10/18

Against the background of the half-yearly results of Deutsche Bahn, the GDL union raises a serious problem: 600 more drivers will be needed by the end of the year.  A recruitment offensive is already under way to get the situation under control, as DB has already hired 1,000 new locomotive drivers during the first half of 2018 and 600 more will follow by the end of the year.

The problem is exacerbated by the high average age of locomotive drivers, which is close to 50 years, hence extensive retirements may be expected in the coming years.  Traffic management must also improve as far too many freight trains are standing around, thereby the use of train drivers is not efficient enough.

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