Fans and teams affected by rail strike

An ICE train is standing in a train station – how much impact does the train drivers’ strike have on the European Championships? (IMAGO / Martin Wagner / IMAGO / Martin Wagner)

“65 games, 17 match days, 6 cities – we will take you to the games in an environmentally friendly way,” said a Deutsche Bahn campaign for the 2024 European Handball Championships in Germany. “As a mobility partner, the railway will bring all national teams to the venues during the European Championships in a climate-friendly manner.” In addition, fans who have a ticket can travel to the match venues within Germany by second-class train for 28.90 euros.

When the train runs. Because exactly at the start of the European Handball Championships on January 10th, the train drivers’ union GDL announced the start of a three-day strike. This raises questions for fans and teams when traveling during the tournament.

DHB and EHF: There are more parking spaces, the railway is removing train connections for fans

Mark Schober, CEO of the German Handball Association, spoke of the strike as a “big challenge”. “We’re trying to manage it,” he said: “We appeal to both parties to find a solution. And I don’t need to make any secret of the fact that we’re not happy about it. This is at the worst possible time.” Additional parking spaces have been created for the opening game at the Düsseldorf location – the DHB is hoping for a record number of spectators in the Düsseldorf football stadium.

Mark Schober, Chairman of the DHB (IMAGO / Noah Wedel / IMAGO / Noah Wedel)

In response to a request from Deutschlandfunk, Deutsche Bahn announced that the train connection for fans’ tickets had been lifted. “The ticket is valid for the journey to the original destination – even with a changed route. Seat reservations can be canceled free of charge. In addition, as part of a special gesture of goodwill, long-distance passengers have the opportunity to bring their journey forward and travel on January 8th or 9th. ” As with the previous strike, the railway will offer an emergency timetable for long-distance transport with a greatly reduced range of journeys. “For these journeys, the DB uses longer trains with more seats in order to be able to bring as many fans and the teams as possible to their destination.”

When asked by Deutschlandfunk, the European handball association EHF said that it expected around 20 percent of the usual connections to be available on the railway. “Where possible, we recommend carpooling and increasing the parking capacity around the arena in order to be able to guarantee travel as best as possible, even under the given conditions,” said the EHF.

A preliminary group moves from Düsseldorf to Berlin during the strike

Five of the six preliminary round groups will take place entirely at one venue; these teams do not initially have to travel within Germany. Munich, Berlin and Mannheim are the venues. However, Group A changes cities from Düsseldorf to Berlin after the first match day.

In addition to the German team, North Macedonia, France and Switzerland will play in Düsseldorf on January 10th and in Berlin on January 14th. How do you get there?

Fans and players of the German team in Berlin – this is where the further group A preliminary round games are scheduled to take place after the opening game. (imago images / photo booth / photo booth / Weller via www.imago-images.de)

Swiss team: “We assume that we will take the train to Berlin on Thursday”

In response to a request from Deutschlandfunk, the Swiss association announced that the team would travel by plane from Zurich to the first game. “The change of location to Berlin is being organized by the organizer EHF and the DHB. We are in constant communication with these two parties regarding a possible rail strike. As of now we are assuming that we will take the train from Düsseldorf on Thursday as originally planned travel to Berlin,” said spokesman Raphael Bischof. Thursday is the second of the GDL strike days.

If there is no agreement in the tariff dispute at the railway, problems could arise again in the further rounds. All teams that advance must travel to the main round. Because then the games will take place in Cologne and Hamburg. The placement games and the final games are scheduled for Cologne.

Deutsche Bahn is also a key part of the infrastructure at the European Football Championship

The arrival and departure of fans at major sporting events often causes the most climate-damaging CO2 emissions. In order to reduce their carbon footprint, the organizers are trying to get as many fans as possible to travel by train. The teams’ arrival on the train should serve as a model for this.

Deutsche Bahn is therefore also an important player in the European Football Championship in summer 2024 in Germany. Here too, the European association UEFA and the German Football Association (DFB) want to ensure that many fans travel by train and have offered discounted tickets, including for journeys from abroad.