Red Faces Of The Week (10)

It is always good to hear of countries finding the cash to invest in public infrastructure projects. A total of 31 commuter and medium distance trains were ordered for the Spanish regions of Asturias and Calabria. That is the good news.

The bad news is that it was revealed a few weeks ago, albeit, allegedly, before the trains were built, that the original designs of the trains would not have fitted in the tunnels along the lines. You would have thought that was one of the first thing to have been checked and, not surprisingly, heads have rolled including that of Spain’s Secretary of State for Transport, Isabel Pardo de Vera.     

Discovery of the embarrassing error has meant that the regions will have to wait another two or three years before the redesigned trains are delivered. On the positive side, travel on the Asturian and Cantabrian networks affected by the delays will be free until early 2026, the government announced.