new york subways were -mostly - cleaner than ever the last time i was there, but still, funky, as they would seem to have to be, given the crush of people who use them, at almost every minute of the day and night...
fs
In the USSR, the subway was a showpiece for the Stalinists, as well as one obvious place to spend labor in a full-employment economy. It probably remains a showpiece (deservedly so!), and also gives the Russian command-comprador state a place to justify some public employment in a new situation. (Correct, Mr. Doss?)
In the USA, beautiful, lavish subways are a direct threat to corporate capital and its automotive cardio-pulmonary system.