Transport: Lax Reich Rails

U. S. tourists planning a trip abroad this summer may well note a significant item which escaped the German censorship, slipped across the ocean last week. The item (from the technical German railroad magazine Die Reichsbahn) :

Despite a severe lag behind safety requirements, German rail replacements have dropped 40% behind 1937 estimates. Contrary to official orders, new coaches, especially sleepers, have been made of wood rather than steel. Though traffic has increased by 70% since 1932 (Hitler took power in 1933), rolling stock capacity has fallen off 11%.

Results: Derailments have increased from 259 (1932) to 4,513 (1937); rail casualties and injuries...

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