Jishnu Mukerji comments: Paris vs NYC
[EDITOR'S NOTE: On March 12 an article appeared saying that a €26.5 billion ($34.5 billion) plan had been confirmed to expand the Paris Metro system. (See: Grand €26.5 billion Paris Metro expansion plan confirmed). Various e-mails went back and forth among the NJ-ARP Directors. Below is Jishnu's summation e-mail.]
Man! I did not realize that I was starting a passionate e-mail storm. Just to give some additional context by taking but one example Metro Line expansion from the article, let me illustrate a few points.
Take the creation of the new Metro Line from Orly Airport to Versailles via St. Quentin. This would be sort of like building a Metro line from Islip Airport to Princeton via Connecticut and White Plains and then backtracking along the NEC to New Brunswick. That is the scope of this expansion. We here are institutionally incapable of pulling of such a stunt because of human created barriers in the way of state boundaries, jurisdictions etc. It is not a New York or New Jersey issue. It is a Regional issue.
Fortunately the French were clever enough to create the whole Ile de France collective to put public transport under a single umbrella even though operated by multiple agencies. Even the individual RER Lines (some of them are partially operated by RATP and partially by SNCF TER Ile de France. All Suburban service other than RER is operated by TER. RER A is entirely operated by RATP and RER C by SNCF. The amount of interoperability (common fare instrument, common zone fares, coordinated timetables) and cooperation that them Socialists in France can manage is unprecedented when compared to us more efficient etc. etc. whatever. I don't know why it has to be this way.
Incidentally, this is the first time that a Paris Metro Line will actually leave the Paris Metropolitan area as in the 14 Arrondisments in a major way. RATP-operated RER lines already operate outside those boundaries. In New York getting NYCTA to build a line outside the 5 boroughs should be an interesting exercise to behold. I rest my case. The problems are institutional, not technical.
Jishnu
