I once spent a night in Wuppertal just to ride this thing. Rode it from end to end, and then again the next morning. What was unexpected was how modern it is. You might expect a rickety historic tourist contraption, but in fact it's a modern metro with great views and an unusual ride.
As I understand it, in most countries the railway would be completely uneconomical since it has no off-the-shelf parts and there are no tourists in Wuppertal, but in Germany it makes some sense since it can be used as a sort of training bed for local engineering students and industry.
Personal anecdote. I have recently been in China, specifically Shenzhen and a couple of other southern megacities.
Let me tell you all something: China is getting ahead of us. Shenzhen used to be known for its smokestacks. It is now at least as pleasant as any European city. Not only does it have an excellent metro, loads of green space and trees, wide sidewalks and cycle lanes. It also has silent streets with shockingly clean air. And for a simple reason: all the buses, all the scooters and motorbikes, and at least 40% of the private cars (not very numerous because of the great transit) are electric.
Europeans might be surprised to discover what a difference this electrification makes to a city. From personal experience of both, I can tell you that (IMO) Chinese cities are putting Swiss ones in the shade. This should be a pretty shameful situation for the supposed quality-of-life superpower that Europe imagines itself to be.
Instead of punishing China for getting ahead in a technological battle that will benefit us all, Europe should be copying it.
It if wasn't farmers making your food, it would be you making it. If it wasn't other people providing all the goods and services farmers need, they would be doing it.
Human society is interdependent. Farmers are not aristocrats, they are ordinary citizens providing a service in return for money. Including quite a lot of taxpayers' money, incidentally.
For once, China is not the bad guy here. It used industrial policy to get ahead in green technology. Now it wants to reap the benefits. Exactly as the West, Japan and the Asian tigers did in the past when they had a technological edge.
Europe could have done the same. Nothing was stopping it. Instead, we have a car lobby in denial, and a decadent public who vote for clueless populists.
Germany’s unique suspension monorail is a must-visit for train lovers ( www.euronews.com ) Englisch
EU to put tariffs of up to 38% on Chinese electric vehicles as trade war looms ( www.theguardian.com ) Englisch
2024 European farmers’ protests: Europe’s climate agenda appears dead on arrival | Vox ( www.vox.com ) Englisch
Imo a very good article outlining the contradictions that underlie EU farming policies from an outisder's perspective....
EU says three Chinese electric vehicle makers have not supplied sufficient information for its anti-subsidy investigation, warns it would "use evidence available elsewhere to compute tariffs" ( www.euractiv.com ) Englisch
Archived version....