When an industry with 100‐year history of silo‐based operational domains introduces widespread technological advancements, generating exponential numbers of new interfaces that cross organizational boundaries – how does it respond to this new risk? For the rail/transit industry, the answer has been to adopt a systems engineering approach to manage the risk! Tailoring an SE approach for application to a new commercial domain has had its challenges. These case studies contrast and compare applications of SE across rail/transit projects to evaluate risk reduction and other benefits realized. Explore results across projects differing in scale, goals and asset type as well as in SE management strategies applied. Can the transit industry reach consensus and establish common systems engineering best practices, process and approaches? What tactics are being employed to facilitate shift in the cultural mindset to manage new interfaces and integration demands?