French rail operators will have to spend millions of euros to adjust 1,300 train station platforms after it emerged that 2,000 new trains are too wide to pass through some of the country’s older stations.
French state rail operator SNCF spent €15 billion (£12.1bn) on 2,000 new trains to upgrade the country’s regional train network, but used the wrong specifications when ordering the locomotives.
The misjudgement was first reported by satirical weekly Le Canard Enchaîne, which claimed that rail chiefs had set aside €80 million to pay for the adjustments to rail platforms so that the trains get be introduced to the networks from 2016.
Rail user groups have complained about the waste of funds, that was the result of state strack operator RFF reportedly sending the wrong dimensions to the state train operators SNCF, according to The Local. The measurements given to SNCF reportedly reflected the width of platforms built within the last 30 years, but much of the regional network of stations are a few centimetres narrower.
