junctionist
Senior Member
That cheapness doesn't really bother me. You see the same in newer railway stations in the US and Europe. I'd rather see capital money spent on platform shelters, perhaps nicer-looking station buildings, rather than worrying about simple, functional platform tunnels that you're in for 30 seconds. Usually the tunnels are built under active tracks and are built by slipping concrete tunnel sections under those tracks. There's no easy way to make the tunnels look nicer, unless you tiled the walls and floor.
That said, an easy improvement could include painting the walls through community and school partnerships.
There are many possible finishes. But it's true that these minor tunnels aren't very important when compared to subway stations that people spend more time in waiting for transit vehicles and passing through during their commutes. It isn't a big failure in the way a new subway or LRT line with generic stations would be.