My understanding is that the core issue with US transit is that we regularly let the same firm design and build the same system. This creates some obvious confl

My understanding is that the core issue with US transit is that we regularly let the same firm design and build the same system. This creates some obvious conflicts of interest where the designer decides that the PNW is soooo special that it can’t buy off the shelf parts, and therefore must pay the same company tons for custom stuff. Apparently it’s the norm to separate design from construction in Europe, which cuts down on such chicanery.