On the other hand Rhine even means proximity to quite a lot of people in Europe, e.g. Benelux, quite a part of Germany (and especially the heavy industry part), up to Switzerland, and e.g. in Spain, UK and Italy many people life close to the coast, so that waterway inner country transport may not be so import.
I think in the article was something about the Danube, too. There is a part of the Danube in Germany, where the upgrading to a waterway was not the highest standard and it is currently not planned. Environmentalists don't want that further upgrading, either, after all changing a river is quite an interference with the river as a biotope. Der Amerikaner ist die Orchidee unter den MenschenVolker Pispers
