At this point, for europe it might just be a better idea to let the TGV network grow outwards from France. I doubt that would solve the problem where political

At this point, for europe it might just be a better idea to let the TGV network grow outwards from France. I doubt that would solve the problem where political wrangling is the issue. I especially can't see the Germans allowing the French to build and run their trains and lines. ;) The ICE has run to Vienna for a while now, and Austria's ÖBB recently started their high-ish-speed "Railjet" [1] service (vmax currently 200km/h, due to increase to 230). Both suffer from the same network problems as Germany - trains pass through far too many smaller towns; old tracks. Plus there's the additional difficulty of the Austrian geography. The Vienna-Munich/Frankfurt route runs through one of the flattest parts of Austria, much of the rest of the country is covered in mountains. They are building bypasses (mainly colossal tunnels, as "flat" around here still is pretty hilly) but it takes decades and consumes a phenomenal amount of taxpayer money. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railjet http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railjet