Seattle's light rail isn't bad, but it's expanding slowly and has a long way to go before it even comes close to matching NYC's breadth of transit service, let alone someplace like Tokyo.
Investment in the NYC lines is continuous, and although much more could be done to upgrade switching infrastructure and renovate some aging stations and train cars, it's still a remarkable achievement.
Seattle's light rail should just about triple over the next 6 years, adding 42 miles of new track, from Northgate to Kent to Bellevue and Redmond.
We also maintain our rail, unlike NYC. Chronic underfunding of rail maintenance (in favor of unneeded station upgrades) is tanking reliability on light rail lines in NYC and DC currently, and its only going to get worse so long as critical maintenance is delayed.
Investment in the NYC lines is continuous, and although much more could be done to upgrade switching infrastructure and renovate some aging stations and train cars, it's still a remarkable achievement.