Germany’s reputation as a home of technological innovation was dealt a crushing blow on Thursday when a flagship transport project was scrapped because of soaring costs.

Plans for a high-speed “Transrapid” magnetic levitation train linking the Bavarian city of Munich to its airport were abandoned just seven months after receiving the green light, after construction costs almost doubled from €1.85bn to about €3.4bn, according to Wolfgang Tiefensee, transport minister.