Sydney is still being influenced by overseas trends right now as trams become popular again across large western cities. So do they actually make rational decisions or just follow whatever anyone is doing at the time?
The latter, definitely the latter. Although as much as I dislike the state government they kinda got screwed over by the federal government of the same party. There were reserved heavy rail corridors sold off by the Howard government that would have proven pretty useful.
Looks like Auckland NZ is planning on following this trend by building two tram lines over the next 10 years (CBD down Dominion Rd to Airport, another CBD to West), 60 years after following Sydney's lead of tearing out the trams (first replacing them with electric trolley buses, then removing the overhead lines 20 years later).
I don't see either line making a financial return on the investment, but the NZ government is financing it all by plundering the NZ Super Fund, which was originally intended to provide super payments for NZ's over-65-yr-old retirees. Of course, they're framing it all as "the Fund is making a long-term investment in the country's transport infrastructure", making the eventual huge losses some other goverment's problem.
> I don't see either line making a financial return on the investment
Do they get a financial return on the roads they build?Infrastructure (and practically all government services) never make money, that doesn't mean they aren't worthwhile.
If you're putting the country's pension fund into it you need a financial return. Otherwise you're not making an investment, you're just withdrawing money from the pension fund.
