The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Paris

French and German commuters struggled to work Thursday as rail unions brought transport misery in strike action over pay and pension disputes.

Rail traffic in Germany faced major disruptions early Thursday as passenger train drivers joined freight services in a strike that rail operator Deutsche Bahn called the biggest in its history. On main line tracks, around two thirds of trains were running, most of them high-speed trains. In the west of the country, half of the regional trains were operating, and in the east about 10 percent, according to Deutsche Bahn. Commuters in the cities of Frankfurt and Stuttgart faced traffic chaos as only a third of the suburban trains were running. In Berlin, there were 20 to 40 minute delays on commuter trains.