In Europe and the US at that time, the theory that the railway lines are destined to decline began appearing, and in addition, in the US where the World Bank was located, the railway lines had not been for passengers, but mostly for cargo.
当時の欧米は鉄道斜陽論が台頭していた上、世界銀行のあるアメリカ合衆国では、すでに鉄道は旅客利用ではなく貨物が中心となっていた。