RENFE ordering error leads to Spanish Transport Secretary’s resignation

[MisterUptempo]

From The Guardian -

Spanish transport secretary resigns after new trains too big for tunnels​

Spain’s secretary of state for transport and the head of the state rail company have resigned amid continuing public and political anger after it emerged that dozens of new trains ordered for two northern Spanish regions were too big to fit through some tunnels.

Three years ago, the state rail operator, Renfe, announced plans to modernise the rolling stock on narrow-gauge commuter trains and medium-distance trains in Asturias and Cantabria.

But it was revealed last month that the trains being built under the €258m (£227.5m) contract would be too wide to pass through some of the tunnels in the two regions.

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“From the outset, we’ve accepted responsibility, said sorry, recognised the mistake and determined responsibility. We’ve also begun an internal audit and put together a working group to find a solution and speed up construction of the trains as much as possible.”

The government has, however, previously been at pains to insist that the errors had been spotted before any train was built, and that “not a single euro of Spaniards’ money has been wasted” as a result.

 

[George Harris]

"Strain at a gnat and swallow a camel" comes to mind. I have a feeling this should be under the heading of missing the blooming obvious. The equipment builder should have been given the minimum dimensions of the structures that had to be passed. Maybe they were not, or maybe they forgot to consider the effects of curves, as in when the "swept path" of the vehicle is wider going through a curve due to mid car and end car offsets. Saw both of these played out once, where detail design of a through truss was done by a certain European Engineering Firm who shall remain nameless to protect the guilty. They went to great pains to push some of their favored details in connections which looked a little strange to my American eyes, but in setting the cross section to the meet the system standards, which they regarded as overly generous, by the way, forgot to consider that the structure was on a curve with superelevation. Required widening and modified track to structure offsets were in the design criteria, but they just blew right by that part. The effect of the chord of the truss alignment encapsulating the arc of the track alignment came across as a revelation, as well.

Then the whole thing may have come about because of many of those developing standards for clearances seem to think they are supposed to minimize the clearance between any structure and the proposed vehicle's outline, so that there was really little room for error or increase in vehicle size. It happens frequently because people seem to think they are saving megabucks by whittling a few inches or a foot or so off lateral and overhead offsets. Usually much of this saving ends up proving to be imaginary. That mindset leaves me screaming, "Don't shrink wrap the equipment with the structure!!!!!"

 

[west point]

confused. Didn't The builder of these new cars build some that are operating on these same routes?

 

[jis]

Here is an article with more technical details from a more reliable source about technical matters such as they are:

https://www.railjournal.com/fleet/renfe-president-resigns-over-metre-gauge-train-gauging-error/

 

[Metra Electric Rider]

I was wondering if this was going to pop up here - the original article I saw was sort of unclear/vague about what exactly the problem was or the cause.

 

[west point]

confused. Didn't The builder of these new cars build some that are operating on these same routes?

I evidently read all the thread about this problem,. Renfe evidently had decided on a new ROW loading gauge for any new or repairs on its narrow gauge lines. Thos clearances are what was given to CAF. Probably no information to CAF that the order was going to have equipment use present narrow loading gauge routes.

 

[Metra Electric Rider]

I evidently read all the thread about this problem,. Renfe evidently had decided on a new ROW loading gauge for any new or repairs on its narrow gauge lines. Thos clearances are what was given to CAF. Probably no information to CAF that the order was going to have equipment use present narrow loading gauge routes.

Ah, thanks, that spells out the issue in a nutshell/cliff notes version!