Clash of railway civilisations

Finally,the high-speed rail linking France and Germany will soon be a reality. This project had spent almost 10 years in the sidings because of Franco-German quarrels about coffee cups, braking systems, on-board handcuffs and little red flags.

So exactly what was their disagreement about?

High Speed Trains - German Left, French Right

The French had to meet German standards: stronger brakes because Germany insists on shorter braking times, drinkable water in the lavatories and real porcelain rather than plastic crockery in the dining car. This was almost akin to telling the French how they should eat and the French countered with their own standards:

French trains have a special seat with metal rings to hold any criminal detained on board; the German trains did not. Each French train has, under rules drawn up in the steam age, an emergency kit that includes red flags and flares – pointless, say the Germans, when travelling at these kinds of speeds. The new German trains, in order to meet French specifications, now have three wiring systems and five different fuses.

But before the French were wholly satisfied, the Germany trains had to complete 120,000km of tests and more than 30 drivers had to pass an exam in the French language. But the biggest non-technical sticking point was the refusal of French ticket inspectors to serve coffee and meals to first-class customers. This is a normal part of the service for German ICE trains but was a step too far for the proud controlleurs. German inspectors will now double as waiters for the whole journey to Paris.

Now, for as for the planned railway link between Singapore and Malaysia, I wonder what would be their sticking points?