The drivers' union GDL called a three-hour strike to press their claim for a new wage contract, a day after the national rail company Deutsche Bahn struck a pay agreement with two other unions who staged a series of strikes last week.

Commuter services in Berlin, Munich and Hamburg as well as regional and goods services ground to a halt when drivers began their three-hour stoppage at 8 am (0600 GMT).

Deutsche Bahn obtained an injunction banning the strikes, but the court order was not delivered until after the walkout began. The GDL called off the action after two-and-a-quarter hours.

The GDL union is seeking a pay hike of up to 31 per cent and a separate contract for the 20,000 Deutsche Bahn train drivers it represents, something the company has ruled out.

The GDL was not represented at talks on Monday when the larger Transnet and GDBA unions accepted a 4.5 per cent pay hike for their 134,000 members from January 2008 and one-off payment of 600 euros for the rest of this year.

This was more than double the initial offer of 2 per cent made by Europe's largest rail network before the unions started industrial action that brought many services to a halt for three days last week.

A Deutsche Bahn spokesman said the company would consider seeking compensation from the drivers' union for ignoring the injunction, after last week's stoppages cost it millions of euros per day.

Deutsche Bahn chief Hartmut Mehdorn said he hoped the court ruling meant there would be no more strike action before the railways' management met leaders of the GDL for negotiations on Friday.

Mehdorn said Deutsche Bahn would make the locomotive drivers the same offer as the one accepted by the two other unions, which analysts pointed out was well above the inflation rate.

Rail officials said Tuesday's stoppage affected more than 140 trains during the morning rush hour and led to delays that lasted until early afternoon.

In Hamburg, a commuter train stopped 100 metres short of the main station, prompting hundreds of passengers to climb out of the carriages and walk along the tracks to the platform.