• @pingveno
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    31 year ago

    I also wonder whether, for countries that do have legacy rail systems, the costs of retrofitting nationwide standards might outweigh the benefits?

    I was thinking about this as well. China started their first rapid transit systems a full century after Europe and the US. Maybe it would work to first introduce a broad set of standardized options at the expense of the efficiency of providing fewer options. From there, consolidate offerings over time as local systems and nations are adapted. Forward compatibility should be planned in so that functioning older equipment isn’t unduly discarded.