Check your clearances!

[nkalanaga]

"OVIEDO, Spain
Two top transportation officials in Spain resigned Monday after it emerged that Spanish authorities ordered 31 commuter trains that were too big to fit through tunnels.
Anadolu confirmed that Spain's Transportation Ministry accepted the resignation of the Secretary of State for Transport, Isabel Pardo de Vera, and the president of the state rail company Renfe, Isaías Taboas."

https://www.timeturk.com/en/spanish-transport-officials-resign-after-trains-ordered-that-can-t-fit-through-tunnels/news-70341

Really?  They've never heard of clearance diagrams?

[dem34]

Happens a lot in Public transit. Though often both ways with this kind of issue. For example, Bombardier submitted their Multilevel III design to NJT with the wrong trucks 3 times in a row over a year long period.

[nkalanaga]

I can almost see it in transit systems, as they're not standardized to start with. Wrong trucks, three times, is a little excessive, though.sounds like somebody wasn't reading their mail.

But these Spanish trains are for local service on the mainline railroads.  They certainly should have a good idea of how big the tunnels are.

[CRL]

Interesting concept…. Politicians actually resigning when they F-up.

[DirtyD79]

Makes me think of the famous 11'8" bridge in Durham, North Carolina. They raised it up to 12'4" a few years ago but it's still doin' a number on the roofs of trucks.

[nkalanaga]

A very similar mindset:  "It'll fit, never mind the clearance signs!"

I liked the videos, and there were several, of a truck hitting the bridge, the driver getting out, looking at the damage, backing up, and TRYING AGAIN!  At least one took the whole box off the chassis, and left it in the street.  More than one peeled the whole roof off.  And there was one very large motor home that lost multiple AC units.

There are other similar bridges around the US that have almost as many collisions, but they don't have video cameras.