Getting the wrong measurements can be expensive.
In any project it’s important to take a step back and check that important things haven’t been missed.
The French train operator SNCF has just discovered that 2,000 new trains it had ordered are too wide for some of their platforms. The trains cost €15 billion.
The error arose because the national rail operator RFF gave the wrong platform dimensions to the train company SNCF. The national rail operators measured a number of platforms but all the platforms they measured were built within the last 30 years.
Unfortunately, they didn’t measure any platforms which were built more than 30 years ago as these were designed for slimmer trains and are too wide for the new trains to pass through.
It must have been a stressful day in the office when the mistake was identified and the solution to the error will be far from simple. Over 1,000 platforms will need to be adjusted before the new trains can become fully operational.
The total cost of amending the platforms will be more than €50 million.
