-
GR, GRP, PR: What do the French hiking signs mean?
What are the coloured symbols on French hiking routes? Who paints them there and why?
-
Miss France: glam - but not sexy
Miss France organiser Geneviève de Fontenay fears she is fighting a losing battle to protect her 'Cinderella dream' from vulgarity
-
Normandy Landings visit for Queen
Queen Elizabeth has confirmed a state visit to France, ending rumours she is handing over duties to Charles
Europe’s longest train trialled
A freight train 1.5km long has been tested out between Lyon and Nîmes
AN EXPERIMENTAL train 1.5km long – Europe’s longest – has been tested between Lyon and Nîmes.
Twice as long as usual freight trains, with up to 70 trucks instead of 35, it is powered by a manned engine at the front and another one in the middle which the driver can control remotely.
Enabling a more intensive use of the rail networks, it is hoped that such trains will help boost the freight sector, which has been in decline since 2,000 and is down by a half since its peak.
The test run was the first by a group of 16 partners, including SNCF and Réseau Férré de France (RFF), as part of a project being part-funded by the European Commission to develop freight transport.
It is hoped to put it into service by 2016.
The train can be seen in action at: Longest train
Photo: Screenshot from Le Monde
