Rail finance is under acute strain because the rail regulator has reduced access charges paid by the train-operating and freight companies.

ECONOMIST: Transport strategy

"This increase is putting a large strain on public finance, " says Kawai of the World Bank.

CNN: Asia's Memory Lapse

The recent resignation of controversial finance minister "Red" Oskar Lafontaine may have helped ease the political strain, but the German government's grip on events seems decidedly less firm that under previous Chancellor Helmut Kohl.

BBC: By Political Correspondent Nick Assinder