Non-Europeans relying on stereotypes are often bemused(困惑的，茫然的) to find that nowadays Italy’s trains are tip-top(一流的，极好的) while Germany’s are in chaos. In July Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, sacked Patrick Schnieder, his transport minister, over his inability to fix Deutsche Bahn (DB), the state-owned railway operator, whose troubles range from a dilapidated network to a bloated bureaucracy.(7月，德国总理默茨解雇了交通部长施尼德，因其未能修复德国铁路。) His successor, Steffen Bilger, inherits a mammoth(巨大的，庞大的) task. DB is notoriously(众所周知地（贬义）) resistant to change(抗拒变革), and its unions can paralyse(使瘫痪，使无法运作) the country, as they did with a six-day strike in 2024.
依赖刻板印象的非欧洲人常常感到困惑，因为如今意大利的火车一流，而德国的火车却一片混乱。7月，德国总理弗里德里希·默茨解雇了交通部长帕特里克·施尼德，原因是他未能修复国有铁路运营商德国铁路（DB），其问题从老化的网络到臃肿的官僚机构不一而足。他的继任者斯特芬·比尔格接手了一项艰巨的任务。德国铁路以抗拒变革而闻名，其工会能使国家瘫痪，就像2024年为期六天的罢工那样。
Fortunately, Mr Bilger may get help from efficient Italians. In early July Italo, an Italian high-speed operator, obtained(获得，取得) access to German rails via an arm of(通过……的一个部门) DB. By 2028 it plans to challenge DB’s dominance(主导地位，支配) along two routes: Munich-Cologne-Dortmund and Munich-Berlin-Hamburg. On July 20th it signed a €3bn ($3.5bn) deal with Siemens, an engineering conglomerate(大型联合企业，集团), to buy 26 Velaro high-speed trains, with an option for(可选择……的期权) 14 more.
幸运的是，比尔格先生可能会得到高效的意大利人的帮助。7月初，意大利高铁运营商Italo通过德国铁路的一个部门获得了进入德国铁路的权限。到2028年，它计划在两条线路上挑战德国铁路的主导地位：慕尼黑-科隆-多特蒙德和慕尼黑-柏林-汉堡。7月20日，它与工程集团西门子签署了一项30亿欧元（35亿美元）的协议，购买26列Velaro高速列车，并可选择再购买14列。
“Italo’s entry is an opportunity for Germany,” says Christian Böttger of the University of Applied Sciences in Berlin. Trenitalia, Italy’s state-owned railway operator, once fiercely(激烈地，猛烈地) resisted Italo’s intrusion(闯入，侵入). But when the newcomer started running in 2012 it had a hugely beneficial effect on(对……产生了巨大的有益影响) the country’s high-speed market. Within five years prices dropped by 40% on average, and the number of passengers more than doubled(增加了一倍多). Luca di Montezemolo, the company’s co-founder, says Germany resembles(类似于，像) Italy before Italo.
“Italo的进入对德国来说是一个机会，”柏林应用科学大学的克里斯蒂安·伯特格说。意大利国有铁路运营商Trenitalia曾激烈抵制Italo的闯入。但当这位新来者于2012年开始运营时，它对该国的高铁市场产生了巨大的有益影响。五年内，票价平均下降了40%，乘客数量增加了一倍多。该公司联合创始人卢卡·迪·蒙特泽莫罗表示，德国与Italo出现前的意大利相似。