But that's not inherent to the mode of transportation. In germany (and generally in Europe) taking the train is often a bit faster (~20%) than by car - assuming no traffic. Of course this doesn't apply to rural regions, but between most cities trains run every 1h.
And the train network in germany isn't even very good.
Around the year 2000+/-2 that was my daily experience on the track from Hagen in Westfalen(near Dortmund) to Cologne or Düsseldorf. When it went over the Autobahn there was always gridlock. I noticed that mostly out of the corners of my eyes, while reading Tipler's Physics, Stryer's Biochemistry, Albert's Molecular Biology of the Cell, or other sciency stuff like that, comfortably munching something and sipping coffee. Hopping into some bus, tram, subway for another 10 to 20 minutes, arriving relaxed and fit.
> And the train network in germany isn't even very good.
It's all relative :) Coming from Ireland (where intercity is still diesel with max speeds around 160km/h, and average speeds far worse), ICE kind of seems like magic.
And the train network in germany isn't even very good.