French National Railways (SNCF) and infrastructure manager French Rail Network (RFF) said in a statement on May 20 that 1300 platform faces are being modified at a cost of around €50m to increase clearances for the Alstom Régiolis and Bombardier Régio 2N trains, which are wider than previous generations of rolling stock. A total of 182 Régiolis sets and 159 Régio 2Ns are due to enter service across France by the end of 2016 with more trains expected to follow in the longer-term.
So far 300 platform faces have been modified and a further 600 will be treated by the end of this year.
Describing the issue as "incredible" and "comically dramatic", French transport minister Mr Frédéric Cuvillier told French media that he believes the situation was the result of the fragmented structure of the industry and the "ineptitude of strict separation" between SNCF and RFF.
RFF has accepted responsibility for the problem, saying it passed on inaccurate gauging data to SNCF, which managed procurement of the trains. "We discovered the problem a bit late, we recognise that and we accept responsibility on that score," RFF spokesman Mr Christophe Piednoel told France Info radio.
