I posted about last November's announcement of "RER métropolitain" plans as
a minor point in another thread, not thinking it would amount to much. Well, it has amounted to a much bigger announcement, at least.
From Reuters:
France plans to invest 100 billion euros in rail infrastructure by 2040
PARIS, Feb 24 (Reuters) - France plans to invest 100 billion euros in rail transport by 2040 as part of a government push to reduce the country’s carbon footprint, the government said on Friday.
The plan, aimed at expanding and upgrading the rail network, includes launching express commuter trains similar to the Paris RER system in major cities, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said.
The announcement seeks to tackle perceived inequalities between Paris and other parts of the country when it comes to public infrastructure, exacerbated by soaring energy costs that have made transport expensive for millions of commuters.
Of course pre-announcement of a lot of spending can be quite cheap, even more so if it's also partly a re-announcement. It's finding the cash when it's needed that hurts. Mind you, French governments have a better record for actually carrying out their expensive promises than ours. And as usual for French infrastructure projects, they will be raiding other piggy-banks as well as their own:
France would make the planned investments together with national rail operator SNCF▸ , the European Union and local governments, she [Elisabeth Borne] said.
