Fellow train nerds will have been watching with interest the ongoing debacle that is the year-long delay to the £15 billion Crossrail project in London. This new east-west railway should be opening this December, but the announcement came a few days ago that this would be delayed by a full year. Those working in local government will probably be familiar with this – failure and delay suddenly bursting from a clear blue sky. In a few short days we can go from senior officers telling us that all is well to resigned head-shaking and “critical paths” being elongated by weeks, ...