>its really old

NYC, Boston and Philly's systems all date from the late 1800s/early 1900s, with most of the infrastructure being completed before 1960.

Is this about the trains? They looked a little old, but not obsolete. The stations I visited were all spacious, clean and decently-lit compared to NYC or Philly. The time-to-arrival indicators were really nice. The only way we know a train is coming up here is by looking down the tracks to spot the light.

The main negative I saw was having to swipe twice to complete a ride. I can see how swiping when exiting can be a huge bottleneck during rush hour.

Edit: Another issue I had was customer service, or the lack thereof. I somehow screwed-up when using my card, and could not find anyone to help me with my problem. Ended up just hopping over those plastic things.