Following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed and troubled projects from around the world.
British Rail - UK
Project name : Advanced Passenger Train (APT)
Project type : Design and development of high speed trains
Date : 1981 (filed under historical failures)
Cost : £50M (1981 costs estimated) – £150M (2012 inflation adjusted cost)
Synopsis :
With the goal of decreasing travel times between the UK's major cities, in the 1970's the then publicly o...
More
Failed government project
Department of Transport – West Coast Railway Franchise
The following entry is a record in the "Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed and troubled projects from around the world.
Department of Transport - UK
Project name : West Coast Rail Franchise Competition
Project type : Tendering process for operations of passenger rail system
Date : Sep 2012
Cost : £40 to £100 Million estimated
Synopsis :
Operated by private companies, the British rail system is divided into a number of distinct regions. The contract for the West Coast li...
More
British Home Office
Following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed and troubled projects from around the world.
British Home Office - UK
Project type : Mobile computing implementation
Project name : Mobile Information Programme (MIP)
Date : May 2012
Cost : £103M
Synopsis :
Equipping 41,000 British Police Officers with Blackberry devises was intended to cut down on paperwork, improve efficiency and allow officers to spend more time on the beat. Savings from the plan ...
More
Tacoma Narrows
Following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed and troubled projects from around the world.
Washington State - USA
Project name : Tacoma Narrows
Project type : Suspension bridge
Date : 1940 (filed under historical failures)
Cost : $6.4M in 1940 - $105M adjusted to 2012 costs
Synopsis :
If you are putting together a list of failed projects from the history books it would be hard to ignore the Tacoma Narrows bridge. At the time of its opening in sum...
More
Department of Homeland Security – Cook Country
Following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed and troubled projects from around the world.
Department of Homeland Security - USA
Project type : Integrated security system
Project name : Project Shield
Date : Jan 2012 Cost :$45M
Synopsis :
A project aimed at providing live camera links from police cars and other fixed locations to a central command location fails to achieve the desired results. Equipment failures, poor planning and poor training me...
More
US Census – Field Data Collection Automation (FDCA) – Case Study
Case study has moved please click here
More
BC Ferries
Following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed and troubled projects from around the world.
BC Ferries - Government of British Columbia - Canada
Project : Fast ferries
Project type : Design, build, deploy high speed ferries
Date : Jun 2002 Cost :$460M CAD
Synopsis :
Driven in part by congestion problems being experienced at one of the main ferry terminals in Vancouver British Columbia, the government of British Columbia decided that a new fleet o...
More
Queensland Health
Following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed and troubled projects from around the world.
Queensland Health - Government of Queensland - Australia
Project type : Payroll (ERP)
Project name : Shared Services Initiative - LATTICE replacement
Date : Jun 2010 Cost : $64.5M AUD direct cost + $1.2B AUD for 8 years of subsequent operations.
Synopsis :
In an effort to save costs, the Queensland Government initiated a "shared services" program in 2003. Th...
More
National Offender Management Service
Following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed and troubled projects from around the world.
National Offender Management Service - UK
Project type : Integrated offender management system
Project name : C-NOMIS
Date : Mar 2009 Cost :$375M
Synopsis :
Efforts to integrate prison and probation systems from different local authorities into one national system fail. Despite a two year delay and life-cycle costs that have risen from $375M to $1.1B the UK...
More
Department of Primary Industries – Australia
Following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed and troubled projects from around the world.
Dept. of Primary Industries - Governement of Victoria - Australia
Project type : Smart meters
Date : Jan 2010 Cost :$2.25B AUD
Synopsis :
Costs to deploy smart electrical meters to all households and small businesses in Victoria, Australia balloon from $800M to $2.25B. A review by the Auditor-General questioned whether the project could now deliver any value...
More