The wheel profile and the decision to use Russian Imperial gauge were part of the culture that existed when BART was conceived. They wanted it to be "new and modern", so threw out all existing technologies. Rather than using proven technologies and updating them if necessary, they decided to start from scratch. Instead of using experienced builders of subway and rapid transit cars, they went to Rohr Aircraft, which built fuselages for passenger aircraft and had no experience with rail vehicles. For computers, fare collection, and signaling, they went to Cubic Corporation, which also had no experience. All of the problems BART has had over the years stem from these kinds of decisions. Costs were much higher doing it "custom" rather than "off the shelf" and they had and continue to have problems with their uniqueness that they wouldn't have had if they weren't so hell-bent to reinvent the wheel.