German road, railway infrastructure is decaying, with harsh economic consequences

[unhappycamper]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/german-road-railway-infrastructure-is-decaying-with-harsh-economic-consequences/2013/12/30/2eda2bdc-68ab-11e3-ae56-22de072140a2_story.html?tid=pm_world_pop

German road, railway infrastructure is decaying, with harsh economic consequences
By Michael Birnbaum, Published: December 30 | Updated: Tuesday, December 31, 11:20 PM

HAMBURG — Flawless autobahns and punctual trains are as much a part of Germany’s image as Beethoven and Goethe. But the country’s famed infrastructure is starting to crumble.

The once-soaring bridges are sagging. Some railroad switching equipment, once top-of-the-line, has not been updated since the time of the kaisers. Well-engineered canal locks are succumbing to silt and neglect.

Germany’s network of roads and railroads is one of the densest and most developed in the world. But bottlenecks are starting to crimp Germany’s export-driven economy, experts say. Even maintaining the status quo will require nearly doubling current spending levels, according to a recent report issued by a government commission.

Peter Osse, a shipper in the port of Hamburg, said he increasingly reaches not for a timetable but a prayer book when he makes transportation plans.

[Roci]

1. Germans

leaning to be Americans. How novel. You would think one of the brightest and most technically proficient Nations in Modern Europe would know better.