A big part of that, in my opinion, is because they own the track and right-of-way. It creates a VERY robust natural monopoly in a field that is already predisposed to natural monopoly.
In other countries, even deregulated ones, the state still owns the track and right of way. It an operator isn’t doing a job, a competing operator can be given a license or pay the fee and use the track and just blow them up. The state can be responsible for maintenance of the infrastructure and safety features either directly, through a PPP, or by requiring the work be done by the licensed operators as part of their fee structure. But with essentially private ROW and track, you lose almost all power.
Shout out to the fuckwits in Cincinnati selling off their incredibly valuable resource for pennies on the dollar.
A big part of that, in my opinion, is because they own the track and right-of-way. It creates a VERY robust natural monopoly in a field that is already predisposed to natural monopoly.
In other countries, even deregulated ones, the state still owns the track and right of way. It an operator isn’t doing a job, a competing operator can be given a license or pay the fee and use the track and just blow them up. The state can be responsible for maintenance of the infrastructure and safety features either directly, through a PPP, or by requiring the work be done by the licensed operators as part of their fee structure. But with essentially private ROW and track, you lose almost all power.
Shout out to the fuckwits in Cincinnati selling off their incredibly valuable resource for pennies on the dollar.