2000 New French Trains Too Wide For Platforms

Someone is going to be in a lot of trouble when they get in to work today.

The French train operator SNCF has revealed that 2,000 new trains that it ordered are too wide for many of its regional platforms. The trains cost 15bn euros (£12.1bn) and the error has so far cost SNCF 50m euros (£40.6m), with the cost expected to rise substantially.

The trains have already been made, so the only option is reconfigure platforms in order for the trains to fit through. Some have already been changed, but there are still 1,000 left to alter.

It appears that the national rail operator RFF gave out-of-date dimensions to SNCF, failing to account for older stations that had been built when trains were thinner.

In a masterstroke of gallic understatement, a spokesman for the RFF said that they had "discovered the problem a bit late".

This would never have happened on the Fat Controller's watch, that's all we're saying.

(Images: Rex)

[via BBC]