"It's because someone has too narrow tunnels": Australia spent 2 billion euros on too wide trains

The authorities of the Australian state of New South Wales have purchased new trains in South Korea worth $ 2.3 billion. And everything would have been fine if not for one "but": the trains turned out to be too wide to pass through the Australian tunnels.

Source: Business Insider

The old- style train

The old trains were 2.9 meters wide, and the new ones were 3.1 meters. According to the rules, the distance between the tunnel wall and the car should be at least 200 millimeters. With new trains, this distance will be less, and the train risks crashing into a wall. But officials decided that they would not refuse to order trains, but instead weaken safety standards and expand tunnels built at the beginning of the XX century.

The leader of the opposition party, Luke Foley, commented on the situation:

The modernization of the tunnels will take about two years, the cost of the work is unknown.