Calamitously delayed transport projects are nothing new. Just ask long-suffering London commuters about the Elizabeth line, which opened – only partially completed – over three years late. Or German rail travellers, still waiting for Stuttgart’s Hauptbahnhof, seven years overdue. Passengers at Berlin airport can trump that; it opened nine years behind schedule.
Cultural venues, another crucial element of the travel experience, are far from immune to wildly optimistic predictions. What were they smoking at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam when they predicted a 21st-century refurbishment would take just three years? The site was off limits for a decade.
