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"The weight and influence of the automobile industry within the German economy and society have also been cited as structural obstacles to the development of ra

"The weight and influence of the automobile industry within the German economy and society have also been cited as structural obstacles to the development of rail." Quite a understatement, because automobile industry is the backbone of German export economy. Anything that seriously competes with automobile industry is a BIG no for many German politicians with connections to automobile industry. Like the short lived public transport 9-Euro-Ticket. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9-Euro-Ticket https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9-Euro-Ticket

Arodex 5mo ago
Italy is another country with an heavyweight auto industry, and yet their trains are so good and efficient they put Alitalia under water and are extending operations in neighboring countries.
- leonidasrup 5mo ago
  Italy is nowhere near the German level of car exports. Data is for 2024: Germany: 280,475,009 USD Italy: 47,008,486 USD https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_vehicle_exports https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_vehicle_e...
rurban 5mo ago
Sure, that's why the automobile industry is above the law, they even write their own laws. (telecom or other industries does the same btw). They don't even care about EU laws like the EU data act, which explicitly forbids what VW is doing, closing their CAN traffic to third party apps. They wrote the special Diesel laws, which said that diesel engines don't need to be tested for each engine, only the R&D engines once. All in mind to curb the law by telling Bosch to implement the test detection cheating. Mehdorn is a special case and never had to go to jail over his scandals, spying on employee communications. https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/31/business/global/31bahn.html https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/31/business/global/31bahn.ht... Reminds everyone how the US of A went into full fascism mode decades ago. Cooperations over people.

Arodex 5mo ago

Italy is another country with an heavyweight auto industry, and yet their trains are so good and efficient they put Alitalia under water and are extending operations in neighboring countries.

leonidasrup 5mo ago
Italy is nowhere near the German level of car exports. Data is for 2024: Germany: 280,475,009 USD Italy: 47,008,486 USD https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_vehicle_exports https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_vehicle_e...

rurban 5mo ago

Sure, that's why the automobile industry is above the law, they even write their own laws. (telecom or other industries does the same btw). They don't even care about EU laws like the EU data act, which explicitly forbids what VW is doing, closing their CAN traffic to third party apps. They wrote the special Diesel laws, which said that diesel engines don't need to be tested for each engine, only the R&D engines once. All in mind to curb the law by telling Bosch to implement the test detection cheating. Mehdorn is a special case and never had to go to jail over his scandals, spying on employee communications. https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/31/business/global/31bahn.html https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/31/business/global/31bahn.ht... Reminds everyone how the US of A went into full fascism mode decades ago. Cooperations over people.