Interestingly, in Spain where investments are one of the lowest as per table, trains are fast and arrive on time. Spain by all accounts has the best high-speed train service in the world (one problem is mountains in the north where speeds are much lower...). Why? Maybe difference is that German railways are mostly intended for freight?
Partly.
Germany runs an mixed type railway with freight and passengers on the same tracks. In the 80-90s there was an horrific privatization that destroyed a major parts of the rail network. Personel was also gutted and investing came to an all time low. This means that trains can't be rerouted anymore and one sickwave can block the whole network.
Some parts are also at 100% Capacity and in decades nothing was done from the conservatives who were in power the whole time.
For example Frankfurt: its an terminal station that is central to the whole network and and it is centrally located in Frankurt, but it can't be extended much. One major extension is the extension of the railway to Friedberg from 2 to 4 Lines which will reduce the pressure on that part of the network a lot, but was delayed a lot because trains had an low priority compared to highways in Bavaria.
Interestingly, in Spain where investments are one of the lowest as per table, trains are fast and arrive on time. Spain by all accounts has the best high-speed train service in the world (one problem is mountains in the north where speeds are much lower...). Why? Maybe difference is that German railways are mostly intended for freight?
Partly. Germany runs an mixed type railway with freight and passengers on the same tracks. In the 80-90s there was an horrific privatization that destroyed a major parts of the rail network. Personel was also gutted and investing came to an all time low. This means that trains can't be rerouted anymore and one sickwave can block the whole network. Some parts are also at 100% Capacity and in decades nothing was done from the conservatives who were in power the whole time. For example Frankfurt: its an terminal station that is central to the whole network and and it is centrally located in Frankurt, but it can't be extended much. One major extension is the extension of the railway to Friedberg from 2 to 4 Lines which will reduce the pressure on that part of the network a lot, but was delayed a lot because trains had an low priority compared to highways in Bavaria.