Maybe they could get an 'adapter kit' 

This sounds like the issues with the Acela  trainsets.  Teey were too wide for full tilt when 2 trainsets were on the same curve.  And my guess is that the same company buil both!

You would think the French would have had a mock up and/or prototype, and test the platforms BEFORE production!

Who eats this, the French taxpayers?  "Too many cooks spoil the broth"...like the

last BBC comment, too many players...and an example of how not to run a railroad.

but often a problem on model layouts where the Big Boy won't clear the curves...

They are making Amtrak look good. 

That's not a snail on the side of the train, is it?

That is too funny!  I can't believe no one caught this...lol

--Greg

Boy, I would not want to be the one that screwed up on this! 

That looks like a charicature of a Viking ship on the side of that SCNF loco, but since

France was a target of raiders from the north a thousand years ago,  dunno its relevance to French trains.

Measure twice; cut once!

Just go through the stations a few times at at high speed, that scraping sound will soon go away.

Rusty

Sounds like someone's been feeding these engines a bit too much good wine and cheese!

Great quality control!!!

Sacre bleu!   I always wanted to use that term, I guess it fits.

It is either bumbling incompetence or very shrewd planning, considering Wyhog's opinion. The railroad gets a little egg on its face short term, but gets its platforms fixed long term. Interesting concept, Wyhog.

I'm not yet sure where I come down on this one.

More like: "Oh, Crepe!"

Rusty

Seems like there is a dispute over whether the Train designer was given accurate measurements by the Rail Line. That's just stupid! Even my Tailor doesn't start alterations until he takes measurements. I tell him I'm a 32 waist...but he knows better. It's the builders fault if the trains don't fit, unless the train stations have been gaining weight. I mean, it was a long winter. Tough to get exercise. Maybe the stations are still carrying some Holiday weight. Maybe the French should consult with my Tailor.

Ooh la la savat savat!!

Or something like that!
Ralph

You're all late to the party.

The trains are going to be trucked in to the stations.

Passengers may face some delays.

In 1938 the French socialist government fully nationalised the railway system and formed the Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Francais (SNCF).

My guess is that this fiasco is another government failure to get things right.

1.  Two types of train sets are affected:

   - 182 @TER Regolis, built by Alstom

   - 159 @ Regio 2N, built by Bombardier

2.  The problem has apparently been know internally for a while, and has just recently received publicity.  I believe remedial action has already been taken at a number of locations, and the general plan for the remainder is known, which involves a variety ( and in some cases combination ) of fixes;  track elevation, platform height, etc.   Because of the variables involved there is no single magic dimension, apparently.

3.  Since funding for these trains and indeed the service is made by "Transport Regions" [ freely translated, think multi-state compacts in the US ] they've already gone on record, quite forcefully, as saying the costs involved won't be paid by us -- although, in the grand scheme of things, it will be.....

4.  All of the above, + some good related cartoons, found on French websites in the past 15 minutes.

Best, SZ

You have guessed wrong.

   1.  Taking away the fixed infrastructure [ track, signalling, many stations, etc ] from SNCF -- in theory, at least -- was one of the many changes demanded by the EU to permit increased competition by allowing privatized operators equal access ( and allowing for infrastructure itself to be privatized, although that hasn't happened yet in France, yet the heavy maintenance [ track renewals, etc ] have "always"been in private hands ).

    The shortcomings of horizontal deintegration of railways have been well demonstrated in various countries, especially Britain, which recently renationalized the infrastructure side.

2.  The funding for these trainsets and service improvements is coming from regional government = regional taxpayers.  Since RFF and SNCF are state owned, freight actually has to take a back seat at times -- as the saying goes, "Containers don't vote.

3.  The "real SNCF" which disappeared a number of years ago had a development engineering staff second to none [ think 25 Kv electrification, TGV, etc ] and a body of institutional knowledge about its lines;  most of that has gone away, especially where passenger services in the area between commuter and TGV are concerned. 

4.  If SNCF had not been created in 1938, it surely would have been in 1945 -- see Britain.

  Further, before 1938 two of the six systems were already goverment owned, and with  perhaps the exception of the Nord, the remainder weren't really profitable. -- very analogous to US railways in the depression and their bankruptcies.

SZ

SZ

Don't they eat snails in France?

As long as it is not an old F unit used to power snowplows?

Horizontal deintegration of railways is awesome! Basically, every county, burg, shire or whatever uses or creates whatever standard they desire, thus guaranteing the complete lack of a network-wide standard.

I believe SNCF actually stands for: "So Nothing Can Fit."

At least they did not wait long to take action...so far no bidder but it's only been a few hours.

and another news who did not get that much attention, the tickets collectors are complaining about the new tickets format.

Maybe Calif Gov Jerry Brown can buy them for his Hi-Speed Train To Nowhere.

If SNCF do sell them, then I'm sure that they could probably use them in the next Godzilla movie. 

Maybe if they would move the rail to the center, it wouldn't matter how fat they are.

http://thelostfrance.wordpress...ry-of-the-aerotrain/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KVk8mHOOkQ

Nocole

The fight for who messed up may never end.

French are still fighting over french fries.   It is claimed that fries originated in Belgium, and the on-going dispute between the French and Belgians about where they were invented is highly contentious, with both countries claiming ownership. So funny to me anyway.

Most countries in Europe are the size of small states in the USA.  Yea, that's right keep hoping for a socialist govt. so you can have your trains. 

Long distance trains don't work in the USA because of the long distances. 

Btw, the roads, airports, VA all run by the govt., how is that working out?

Didn't read my post, did you? 

I ***VERY*** specifically cited SF to LA, NYC to Boston and Minneapolis to Chicago as examples. Those distances are almost identical to the distances covered by rail lines in Europe. You'd know that if you ever traveled to Europe and/or were smart enough to read a map! Yeah, trains are a terrible solution if you're going from LA to NYC but a huge chunk of domestic air travel is for distances no greater than what trains cover just as fast in other countries. If nothing nothing else, high speed rail would reduce the amount of congestion and delays bogging down our airports.

Also our roads, airports, etc. in this country are not terrible because they're run by the government. They're terrible because we refuse to pay for them - BIG difference. We massively fund our military and as a result have the most powerful military on Earth (and having spent 10 years in the Army I'm grateful we spent a ton of money on those Abrams tanks!!) 

SeattleSup,

why are you so angry? No need to be so condescending in some of your comments.

i stated in my response "long distance"

Even in distances of 500 miles or less it is not feasible to travel on trains for business and most pleasure trips. It just takes too long. Even the company I worked for banned trains as a mode to use for any business trip.

The only time I have travelled overseas was courtesy of the military. I have no interest in traveling to Europe or anyplace else overseas. There is too much here  in the USA I want to see. 

Although I would like to see state of the art mode of transportation by train in the USA I do not want the govt. involved in any way. If a private entity can't or will not do it then so be it. 

More like:    OH, MERDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'll subscribe to that idea. They ultimately get upgrades and better conformity through their rail system. Sometimes the news media puts a different slant on things.

France is about the size of Texas.  Texas (US) (696200 km² is 1.1 times as big as France (632760 km²). I thought the moto of Texas was "Everything is big in Texas". I guess Texas is just a small state now.

Montana (381156 km²) and Germany (357114 km²) are roughly the same size. Montana is the third largest state in the lower 48.

Spain is larger than California, 505992 km² vs 423970 km².  California is the second largest state in the lower 48.

I did not realize the United States was so small.

Yes, I realize that there are countries such as Luxemburg, Belgium, and how about San Marino that are quite tiny. Europe is actually quite large.

Actually, Texas is a COUNTRY within a country.  It was an independent country 1836-45.  It entered the US via a US Senate Resolution, as a country with the rights of a state.  There are only 15 states which entered the US without being a territory before becoming a state:

13 Original

Texas

West Virginia.

Thank you, Nicole for giving us a heads up. 

We can take some comfort that it isn't just our government that forgets to 'dot the

i's or cross the t's' eh?  

French arrogance takes the cake!!