RIDERS ENCOURAGED TO READ

THE French have come up with a magnifique idea to help commuters pass the time while they wait for their trains — vending machines that will print out short stories for them to read, at no cost.

The machines, which look a bit like postboxes, only painted in black and orange, have numbered buttons, which allow passengers to pick whether they want their story to take one, three or five minutes to read.

Once a user has made their selection, the ticket will spit out a piece of paper printed with their unique tale.

After a successful trial period in Grenoble, southeastern France, the plan is to have the boxes in 35 stations by the end of the year.

The state-owned rail operator SNCF said it had distributed 100 000 stories over the past six months, from an entirely random selection.

The works include tales from classical literature, poetry and fairy tales.

SNCF said the idea was to introduce culture into train travel in a simple way, and to encourage passengers to enjoy quality literature — and take “a journey before the journey”.