I came across a tweet from BBC Travel this morning with some pretty interesting info.

After writing about 9 Scenic Train Rides Around the World a few days back, now here is some news about the rail system in France. However it is pretty ridiculous!

Here is the tweet:

I found it pretty hard to believe what I had just read and couldn’t wait to read the article from The Globe & Mail.com to find out more.

According to the article, French rail officials were embarrassed and trying to explain how such a costly mistake could’ve happened. The new trains were ordered from a consortium that includes Canadian manufacturer Bombardier that are too large to fit through hundreds of regional stations.

The train cars are just a few centimeters too wide.

France’s Junior Transportation Minister blamed the mistake on a 17-year-old reform which split responsibility for the railway system between two state companies.

The mistake will cost a whopping $75 million to fix.  1,300 station platforms will have to be shaved off.

The company responsible for France’s rail tracks said that the trains fit international standards and that they need to adapt the platforms to those standards.

Find out more in the article from The Globe & Mail here.

Image Credit: Paris Metro- wikicommons