Falling short?

The transport systems of some of Europe’s largest economies are underperforming, according to the 2026 Transport Sector Health Index - but why?

France and Germany are home to two of Europe's largest and most developed transport systems, supporting millions of passenger and freight journeys every day. Yet, according to the 2026 Transport Sector Health Index (TSHI), neither country ranks among Europe's top-performing transport systems.

Developed by the Smart Transportation Alliance (STA), the TSHI provides a new annual benchmark for assessing the performance of national transport systems across Europe through four equally weighted dimensions: Accessibility & Usage, Safety & Reliability, Environmental Performance, and Efficiency & Integration.
 

From France's traditionally centralised transport model, focused largely around its capital, to Germany's more decentralised regional approach, the results of the Index show that economic strength does not necessarily translate into top-performing transport systems, demonstrating that balanced performance across all dimensions remains the defining characteristic of Europe's highest-ranked transport systems.
 

“The results of the Index show that economic strength does not necessarily translate into top-performing transport systems”

Accessibility & Usage

Accessibility & Usage represents the weakest-performing dimension for both countries, revealing that there is still room to improve how effectively transport systems connect citizens to their destinations. For Germany, recent performance data also illustrates these challenges. In 2025, long-distance services operated by Deutsche Bahn recorded one of the lowest punctuality rates in Europe, with 80% of the long-distance trains arriving on time^[1], and multiple cancellations and delays reported daily.
 

In contrast, Safety & Reliability is the strongest-performing dimension for both countries. By evaluating indicators such as road safety, serious injuries, passenger transport reliability and punctuality, France records a score of 88 compared with Germany's 84. According to data published by the French Ministry of Interior, road safety became one of the country's main priorities early in 2002, with the introduction of several measures, including commitments by employers, diversified speed cameras, effective alcohol and drug testing, and lowering of the speed limit to 80 km/h. These resulted in the reduction of people killed from 14 to 5 per billion vehicle-kilometres travelled in 2023.

A safer environment

The Environmental Performance dimension assesses transport greenhouse-gas emissions, emissions intensity, the uptake of low- and zero-emission vehicles and transport-related air pollutants. Here, Germany records a higher Environmental Performance score, 76 compared with France's 71, reflecting the country's ongoing efforts to “green” the transport sector, such as the establishment of Low Emission Zones, or Umweltzonen, in big cities including Berlin, Cologne and Munich, where vehicles need to show a green emissions sticker to enter.
 

In France, 30% of CO2 emissions are generated by transport. According to the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion, the country has set ambitious targets to reach over 66% electrification in 2030 and a total electrification of the bus fleet by 2035. At the same time, the country aims to reduce the carbon intensity of the energy used in the transport sector to 14.5% in 2030, by increasing the rate of incorporation of sustainable fuels.
 

“According to the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion, the country has set ambitious targets to reach over 66% electrification in 2030 and a total electrification of the bus fleet by 2035”

Efficient & integrated

Finally, Germany also performs better in Efficiency & Integration, scoring 61 compared with France's 57, reflecting comparatively stronger performance across infrastructure quality, logistics efficiency, congestion, and digital integration. Germany is one of the few EU countries where the shift from road to rail and inland waterways has become a reality, performing slightly above the EU average, 17% across the EU compared with 20% in Germany, according to the German Federal Statistical Office, 2026.

Although Germany records the stronger result, both countries remain some distance behind Europe's healthiest transport systems.
 

“The comparison between France and Germany demonstrates that transport system performance cannot be explained by the size of a country's economy or the extent of its transport infrastructure alone”

Ultimately, the comparison between France and Germany demonstrates that transport system performance cannot be explained by the size of a country's economy or the extent of its transport infrastructure alone. France's strength lies in Safety & Reliability, while Germany performs better in Environmental Performance and Efficiency & Integration. At the same time, Accessibility & Usage remains the weakest dimension for both countries.

Together, these findings reinforce one of the central messages of the 2026 Transport Sector Health Index: high-performing transport systems are those that achieve balanced outcomes across Accessibility & Usage, Safety & Reliability, Environmental Performance and Efficiency & Integration.

The complete 2026 Transport Sector Health Index rankings and methodology can be found on the Smart Transportation Alliance website.

^[1] Elsa Conesa, “Why German Trains Are Never on Time Anymore”, Le Monde, 29 May 2026.