Paris forced to replace underground escalators made too wide
French transport chiefs have wasted millions on new underground escalators that are 10cm too wide.
30 of the recently installed escalators on the ParisMetro will have to be replaced. It is estimated it will cost six million euros to replace them.
The escalator was designed to be 10cm wider to accommodate more users, but this has prevented them from working properly, reports the Daily Mail.
The escalators have broken down several times since their installation in 2005/2006 forcing Metro chiefs to repeatedly shell out thousands in costly repairs, reports The Local.
However, RATP chiefs claim the regular breakdowns are due to the fact parts of the machinery are too fragile.
A member of staff from RATP, the company that runs the Paris Metro, admitted to Le Figaro newspaper, that they had taken a decision to replace the escalators once and for all.
According to Le Figaro, the Paris transport company has opened up legal proceedings against suppliers CNIM (Constructions industrielles de la Méditerranée) with the aim of forcing the company to stump up part of the costs.
This news comes months after transport chiefs bought hundreds of trains that were too wide for the platforms. Another embarrassing transport blunder for French rail chiefs.
Rail operators had to shell out tens of millions of euros to adjust 1,300 platforms to accomodate the trains.
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