France

Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Français (SNCF), France’s national state-owned railway company, recently ordered 2,000 new trains to service its growing railroad network. The problem is the trains are too large for many of the stations they were intended to service, according to published reports.

French rail officials say Friday’s deadly train derailment at a station south of Paris may have been caused by a detached rail joint on the track.

Six people were killed and dozens more injured after a train collided with a school bus that was blocking a grade crossing, authorities said.

France is bracing for its second major transportation strike in a month, beginning Tuesday evening. From Paris, Lisa Bryant reports – although most French do not support the strike – it reflects wider discontent against reforms proposed by the country’s conservative government.

A massive transportation strike has crippled France, as public transportation and other workers took to the streets to protest pension reform plans proposed by the country’s center-right government.

Two trains have collided head-on in eastern France at Zoufftgen in the Moselle region of France, close to the Luxembourg border, at around 11:45 local time earlier today.