The NSW government decision to buy more than $2 billion in new trains that are unable to fit through tunnels in the Blue Mountains would have been better thought through if the government had embraced engineering safeguards that have been proposed for several years.

Believe it or not, anyone in NSW can call themselves an engineer and there is no requirement that engineering advice be taken into account during the conception and development of major projects like this one.

One of the tunnels on the Blue Mountains line that will be upgraded to make it suitable for the new intercity trains.

NSW is now the only major state on the eastern seaboard where this is the case, after Victoria joined Queensland this week in adopting a professional registration system for engineers and the appointment of a chief engineer in government to ensure engineering advice is at the centre of decisions about engineering projects.

Most people are gobsmacked to hear that engineers working on everything from approving your plans for a house extension to managing huge projects like WestConnex do not have to be registered or licensed, unlike other professionals like electricians, architects, doctor and nurses.