By William Horobin
PARIS--France's state-run railway system Wednesday admitted
failing to mind the gap, after realizing that a fleet of new trains
it has ordered are too wide to fit many of the country's
stations.
Confirming a report in satirical weekly Le Canard Enchaîné,
train operator Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer and network
owner Réseau Ferré de France said about 1,300 of France's 8,700
railway platforms must be trimmed to make way for the wider rolling
stock.
It will cost about EUR50 million ($68.5 million) to alter the
platforms to fit the new trains by 2016, when the new trains are
delivered, SNCF and RFF said in a joint statement.
"We discovered the problem a bit late," RFF spokesman Christophe
Piednoël told French radio. "It's as if you bought a Ferrari and
when you come to park it in your garage you realize your garage
isn't exactly the right size for a Ferrari because you didn't have
a Ferrari before."
The blunder highlights how both SNCF and RFF are under pressure
to demonstrate how they can better work together after being
separated into two entities 17 years ago.
The new trains, made by Alstom SA and Bombardier Inc., were
ordered by the SNCF in 2009 and 2010 for a total cost of EUR3
billion. The two institutions said they will publish a report next
week detailing how the error was made and when it became apparent
the platforms would have to be altered.
The revelations sparked a furor in France with politicians from
all sides denouncing the error. Environment and Energy Minister
Ségolène Royal said she wanted clarity on how "such a stupid
decision had been made."
"Such implausible errors simply go to show there are people in
Parisian offices who are too far removed from the regional
reality," Ms. Royal said in the courtyard of the Élysée Palace
after the weekly government cabinet meeting.
Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Front said in a
statement that the episode is "an inexcusable waste of public
money."
The RFF said the costs of altering the platforms would be
covered by the EUR4 billion annual budget dedicated to maintenance,
modernization and development.
Speaking on French radio Europe 1, the president of the RFF,
Jacques Rappoport, defended the railroad operator's record. In the
past 10 years, traffic on regional railways has increased by
between 40% and 50% while some of the platforms are up to 150 years
old.
"It's clear that the trains we had in the 19th century aren't
the same ones we have today," Mr. Rappoport said.
Still, he acknowledged there is a problem with France's system
because it separates the track operator from the train
operator.
A law being prepared by the government should allow SNCF and RFF
to work more closely, government spokesman Stéphane le Foll said
after the weekly cabinet meeting.
Write to William Horobin at William.Horobin@wsj.com
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