>>1881044This is objectively untrue.
Japanese rail companies like JR East/west and Kintetsu make profit in the hundred million to low billions per year range.
https://www.jreast.co.jp/e/investor/ar/2019/pdf/ar_2019-all.pdfHong Kong MTR runs an 170 operating profit, even before real estate shenanigans.
https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/mar/19/how-public-transport-actually-turns-a-profit-in-hong-kongFor a non-east asian culture, you've got the dutch national rail service pretty consistantly posting profits, often exceeding how much they're subsidised by depending on the year.
https://www.nsannualreport.nl/annual-report-2021/financial-performance/finance-in-brief/operating-revenuehttps://www.statista.com/statistics/748940/net-profit-of-ns-group-in-the-netherlands/Hell, La Paz's gondola system has a 100% farebox recovery ratio.
https://www.gondolaproject.com/2016/04/27/numbers-dont-lie-la-pazs-cable-car-report-mi-teleferico/ 