PARIS — France’s state railway company SNCF was under fire Wednesday for ordering hundreds of new, roomier trains that are too wide for one in six French platforms.
The blunder, which requires $68 million in renovations to about 1,300 platforms, was revealed by Le Canard Enchaine.
Junior Transport Minister Frederic Cuvillier called it an “incredible” situation and demanded that SNCF and state railway infrastructure manager RFF both investigate the matter.
The trains, which were ordered from France’s Alstom and Canada’s Bombardier for a total of $4.1 billion, are to be phased in by 2016.
According to the Le Canard Enchaine newspaper, the SNCF engineers who drew up the specifications forgot to check the platform width in some older stations that leave less space between the tracks and the edge.
About 300 platforms already have been renovated, according to SNCF, which sought to portray the setback as part of the routine of rolling out new trains.
“Some installations are more than a century old and have to be brought up to current standards,” the company said.
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