BERLIN – German train drivers walked off the job again on Jan 24 in what is set to be Germany's longest-ever rail strike.

It spells more headaches for commuters with scant signs of a return to the negotiating table on the horizon.

The strike, which began at 2am local time on Jan 24 and is set to last until the evening of Jan 29, is the fourth round of industrial action in the GDL union's dispute with state-owned Deutsche Bahn.

The action comes just two weeks after a previous strike ground national rail traffic to a near halt for three days.

A spokesperson for the national rail operator spoke of renewed “massive restrictions” across the country.

“We believe you have to come to the table, you have to find compromises. That is the only way,” the spokesperson told reporters, pointing to the six-day strike's “massive impact on the economy”.

Drivers in rail freight are holding a simultaneous strike.

GDL leader Claus Weselsky told broadcaster ARD that he was ready to compromise in the dispute over pay and working hours, but said Deutsche Bahn's offers did not go far enough.

“We have to strike longer and harder because the railway management is resistant to advice,” he said. REUTERS