>>2020048Where exactly is passenger rail profitable?
You have the example of Spain where especially HSR is profitable, after the government built the HSR lines and charges low enough tolls for its usage that operation is profitable, but it doesn't recoup the investment or maintenence cost.
You have the example of Japan where train companies make money from all the businesses around the trains but not the trains themselves.
Passenger railway is extremely difficult to to make profitable. Not impossibilitat, but you need ideal conditions.
On that note, weren't US private railways obligated by law to provide passenger service back in the day?
