France Spent $20 Billion on Trains That Are Too Big for Their Stations

France spent $20 billion on trains that are too big for their stations.

Image via Wikimedia

France's national train operator, SNCF, has discovered that 2,000 new trains are too wide to fit many station platforms throughout the country. While the trains—which cost the country $20 billion—will still be able to be used, the error in measurement has already added an additional $68 million in retrofitting costs and there are still 1,000 platforms that must be adjusted. 

A spokesperson from the national rail inspector, RFF, told the BBC that they had "discovered the problem a bit late." Which, yeah, no shit. They also offered The Guardian this simple analogy: "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." Sure, it's exactly like that. 

[via Gawker]

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