The Editorial Board of of Times UK writes, it may be the end of the line for Germany’s reputation for technological superiority.

The network's plummeting record of reliability, chronic delays and cancellations, and unending line closures have long been a private source of frustration to the German people

Doug SheridanDoug Sheridan • 1st • 1stIndependent Research, Analysis, Commentary & Opinion | Energy • Economics • PolicyIndependent Research, Analysis, Commentary & Opinion | Energy • Economics • Policy28m • Edited • 28 minutes ago

The Editorial Board of of Times UK writes, it may be the end of the line for Germany’s reputation for technological superiority.

Official forecasts have consistently named Germany, once the powerhouse of Europe, as the slowest growing G7 economy of the year. Combine this with the sudden collapse in the supply of cheap energy from Russia, export competition from China, demographic pressures within the ageing workforce, and indecisive gov't by a fragile three-party coalition and Germany's reputation for ruthless efficiency, like most national stereotypes, starts to look unreliable.

If not the sick man of Europe, the German state is decidedly under the weather.

Some of the country's most dire problems now appear to be terminal—depressingly few of its trains reach their terminals in good time. Only 64% of long-distance German trains ran on schedule last year, a significantly worse record of punctuality even than Britain's.

The network's plummeting record of reliability, chronic delays and cancellations, and unending line closures have long been a private source of frustration to the German people. Now their railways have become a cause for int'l embarrassment.

Tired of the knock-on disruption caused to their own meticulously calibrated service, the Swiss rail operator SBB this year forbade 11% of German trains from entering the country because they were so unpunctual.

Nor is there much light at the end of the tunnel. Deutsche Bahn, the state-owned rail operator, languishes in permanent crisis. It has lost €1.2B so far this year. Though a sinkhole for public money, the network is degraded and its management careless.

One obstacle to reform is the politically imposed "debt brake," which since 2011 has constrained infrastructure spending in Germany. Now, unlike the trains, years of underinvestment are finally catching up with the German state.

Our Take 1: The Board is actually being kind. The sabotage that German leaders have inflicted on their nation in recent years is legion. Decommissioning nuclear plants because of an unrelated freak event halfway around the world. Pushing policies that undermine the very industrial machine that made the country so special. And continuing to pretend that the world cares how green their shrinking nation is. We simply don't get it.

Out Take 2: Reliability is what suffers when leaders try to limit the spiraling costs of implementing expensive non-solutions to slow-moving climate change and other supposed societal ills. Pay attention to this. If it hasn't already arrived in your life, it's coming. Count on it.