Can Germany's rotten rail system be fixed?

Contrary to popular opinion, Germany's state rail service has never been very good at its job. Poor service is a feature rather than a bug of the country's state-managed train network.

Dear Reader,

Welcome to The German Review’s free weekly newsletter! You can become a supporter here.

Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

You wake up in the morning, turn on the news and find that all the trains in Germany have stopped running. Sounds familiar?

In January, the train drivers’ union, the GDL, called its members to the longest strike in their history as they hardball negotiations with the state rail company over a pay hike.

For six days, commuters had to squeeze into packed carriages on Deutsche Bahn’s skeleton timetable, or go by car. People travelling intercity had to fly or drive. Freight piled up at logistics centres, or moved to lorry.

The estimated costs ran up to close to a billion euros, economists say.

For anyone who has lived in Germany for a few years and commutes to work, this story is drearily familiar.

Rail strikes are so commonplace these days that January’s historic strike didn’t even lead the evening news when it started.

If it's not train drivers striking, it is …