German train drivers began on Wednesday their longest-ever strike, piling on travel misery for thousands of passengers in an escalating industrial dispute that economic experts warn could cost the economy up to a billion euros ($1.1 billion).
Transport Minister Volker Wissing has slammed as "destructive" the six-day industrial action that heaps further pressure on supply chains that are already facing disruption because of attacks by Yemen's Huthi rebels on shipping via the Red Sea.
