NICOLE GELINAS: Train troubles in Europe expose transit’s fatal flaw — contempt for riders.

When I traveled to Europe last month for a summer rail adventure, I knew to allow plenty of time for delays.

I learned that lesson two years ago on a similar journey, when one of my trips on the state-owned German railroad Deutsche Bahn was hours late.

What I wasn’t expecting was a DB train that didn’t run at all — with no warning and zero customer support.

The hypocritical message: We want you to take the train instead of driving or flying, but we’ll make you miserable in the process.

During my previous trip, in 2024, a four-hour ride from Cologne to Hamburg turned into a meandering seven-hour journey beset with unexplained detours.

That experience mirrored statistics: Only 60% of DB’s long-distance trains run on time.

To revise and extend the remarks by the late P.J. O’Rourke, you can’t get good Chinese takeout in China, Cuban cigars are rationed in Cuba, you can’t make movies in Hollywood, and German trains no longer run on time. That’s all you need to know about communism.