German train drivers call off rail strike

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Germany's train drivers have agreed to call off their strike and enter mediation with Deutsche Bahn.

"We are very relieved", said Deutsche Bahn board member Ulrich Weber.

The strike, which began on Tuesday and spread to passenger services on Wednesday, will end at 7pm local time on Thursday.

The GDL train drivers' union has staged a series of strikes to call for a 5% pay rise for 20,000 drivers and a shorter working week.

It is also pushing for the right to negotiate on behalf of other train staff, including conductors and restaurant staff.

Deutsche Bahn, which employs 200,000 people, has offered the drivers a 4.7% pay rise plus a one-off €1,000 (£715; $1,110) payment, but refused to allow GDL to negotiate for other workers.

The latest strike is the ninth walkout in just 11 months and follows a five-day train strike earlier in May, which was the longest in Deutsche Bahn's 21-year history.

An estimated 5.5 million people travel daily by train in Germany.

Economists estimate that the strike earlier this month cost the German economy about €750m (£541m) in lost activity.

"After a dispute that has lasted nearly a year, it was the pressure from the ninth strike that finally broke through the Gordian knot," said GDL leader Claus Weselsky.