DHAKA: Millions of passengers were left stranded across Germany on Saturday after train drivers began a 50-hour strike that halted two thirds of long-distance trains in a dispute over pay and negotiation rights.

The GDL drivers’ union started their action at 2:00am on Saturday morning for passenger trains. They return to work on Monday morning. Freight train drivers started their strike 11 hours earlier on Friday afternoon, reports The Straits Times.

The drivers’ second national strike in a week hit at the start of week-long, half-term holidays in nearly half of Germany’s 16 federal states.

Germans this week have also faced strikes by pilots at Lufthansa’s Germanwings due to a long-running dispute over an early retirement scheme.

BDST: 1846 HRS, OCT 18, 2014