ABSTRACT
Chapter 6 argues that in the context of Prussia’s power play and the growing competition of the interregional railway network after 1860, the full institutionalisation of the Technical Commission and the abolition of the figure of the Chief Inspector proved essential moves in successfully mitigating the political tensions within the Commission and in keeping the Rhine safe. The Technical Commission generated a coherent set of norms and became responsible for a wider range of assessment activities. Thereby it increased its potential to steer the convergence of riparian politics regarding the freedom of navigation of the Rhine. By the turn of the century the protection of the freedom of navigation on the Rhine had been completely depoliticised, and the river had turned into the most prosperous waterway in Europe.
