They could do all kinds of things to cut costs and expedite projects, if business people and engineers were running the show.<p>But alas red tape, political croneyism, union labor and entrenched supply contracts are in the driver&#x27;s seat in the USA, and doubly so for the Northeastern US.<p>Not to mention the system is made of a complicated fragile mess of legacy infrastructure, tracing the entire historical evolution of mass transit from it&#x27;s inception, acquired from several different transportation companies over the course of the 20th century.<p>The extensive rail transit infrastructure that we do have today, was largely built in an era 100+ years ago when there was much public optimism around rail projects coupled with rampant private investment in transportation. Plus the entrenched political speed bumps we see now were still in their infancy.<p>In the last century NYC took all the punches of learning the ropes of operating a subway system, and had a big hand in contributing that knowledge to the rest of the world. Rapid transit in the USA also suffered from public backlash and overall negative public sentiment after decades of missteps and outright sabotage by the automotive industry. This opened up the doors to decades of mismanagement and low ridership.<p>For new projects in other countries, they really have their wind at their backs in many many ways in comparison to NYC. Far more at play in their favor than simply labor cost