"With Japanese consulting and financing, parts of the railway were upgraded to a recognizable commuter network... elevated to remove level crossings. Japanese rolling stock was introduced, and staff received training".
- Berend Schotanus
Interesting to hear of the Japanese industrial/technical/financial export of metros as an industrial/technical system. Very similar thing in Puerto Rico, except that it's CONUS-style highways rather than trains. But same pattern - development aid as industrial policy. Sponsor nation provides contingent financing which is used to purchase consulting expertise and supports the purchase of sponsor-manufactured vehicles.
Half the battle for trains in America is overcoming the lack of a domestic railway industrial/technical complex--we have to import the material and the expertise, which generates political resistance to financing. Yet we lack the technical expertise to do it alone, and the market for rolling stock is too small (despite Buy America provisions!) to be sustainable.
I suspect we're seeing a widespread adoption of BRT in America not just because BRT is good (and it is) but also because it fits within our existing technical/industrial complex of building highway lanes and then running automobiles on them.
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