German rail union EVG threatens January strikes over stalled staff protection bill

Strike ultimatum and legislative demands

Germany's Railway and Transport Union (EVG) has threatened a nationwide halt to regional rail services starting in January unless the federal government moves forward with safety legislation. Union chairman Martin Burkert announced the measure in comments to the Bild am Sonntag newspaper, demanding that a draft bill establishing tougher criminal penalties for assaults on rail staff be submitted to the Bundestag before the end of 2026. Without this legislative step, works councils plan to block approval for monthly duty rosters across Deutsche Bahn's DB Regio subsidiary and private regional rail operators. Such a refusal would legally prevent train crews from starting their assigned shifts, resulting in widespread cancellations across Germany's regional network. Burkert criticized the federal government for delaying the legislative process over the past six months.

The promised law for harsher penalties for attacks on train staff must reach the Bundestag this year, otherwise we will shut down operations in January.

The fatal assault of Serkan Çalar

The union's demands trace back to an incident in early February, when 36-year-old train attendant Serkan Çalar was attacked by a passenger during a ticket inspection on a regional express in Rhineland-Palatinate. Çalar sustained fatal injuries during the encounter, an event that provoked widespread reaction across the German transport sector. In July, a German court convicted the passenger of bodily harm causing death (Körperverletzung mit Todesfolge) and imposed a 10-year prison sentence. In the immediate aftermath of the killing in February, the federal government had publicly pledged to add railway workers to an existing draft law providing heightened legal protections for emergency workers. Burkert argued that political leaders have failed to follow up on those commitments since the trial concluded.

A train attendant was killed on duty half a year ago, and from the political side there were concerned faces and big words, but no action.

Escalating workplace violence and roster blockades

Union representatives report that train conductors and service staff regularly encounter hostility, ranging from verbal abuse over delays and missed connections to severe physical violence. According to the central works council at DB Regio, an average of eight railway employees are assaulted while on duty every single day. Ralf Damde, chairman of the central works council at DB Regio, warned that works council representatives are prepared to enforce a full operational standstill if the legal protections remain stalled in government ministries. A failure to certify the January duty rosters would leave regional passenger services without authorized crew members, disrupting travel for millions of daily commuters nationwide.

Statistically speaking, eight colleagues are attacked on duty every day. No one knows before their shift whether they will return home healthy.

Legislative progress in the federal ministries

The proposed sentencing enhancements were initially drafted by Federal Minister of Justice Stefanie Hubig (SPD) to increase penalties for attacks against emergency medical responders, firefighters, physicians, and nurses. Following the February incident, Federal Minister of Transport Steffen Bilger (CDU) supported extending the statute to cover rail employees, stating that passenger and staff safety forms a basic prerequisite for functioning public transport. Bilger recently announced upcoming government discussions on the measure. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice confirmed that the draft text is undergoing internal coordination between federal departments, with the goal of submitting the bill to the Bundestag so lawmakers can debate and potentially pass it before the conclusion of 2026.