Second generation U.S. rail transit systems: Prospects and perils

So far in the decade of the 1970's, commitments have been made to construct a second generation of new rail systems in four urban areas — Atlanta, Baltimore, Miami and Buffalo. In this paper the authors speculate on the prospects and perils that lie ahead for these systems in the context of national and local expectations for rail transit and the experience of the first generation rail transit systems of San Francisco (BART) and Washington.