If that were true, Amtrak wouldn't be leasing railways as it's nationally run. Railroad companies like Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern, CSX, own their rails. They own their rolling stock. They own their locomotives. They lend you, the business person, a rolling stock to load and ship to where you need it to go. There it will be unloaded and sold/shipped by truck to final destination.
Rail companies own the right-of-way AND the rails. They control what runs on their rails, who runs on their rails, when they run, etc.
It's quite something to think that 97% of the rail tracks in the USA are privately owned.
Yeah, it was a much more symbiotic relationship until the 1970s. During WW2, the rail companies would ship war goods and troops to and from, part of the deal to get those public funds for rail expansion. In the 1970s the rail companies were struggling due to interstate trucking and so they were deregulated in 1980 and privatized (reasoning: only the free market will determine if they should fall). The privatization of the US rail system then made it easier for companies such as Conrail at the time, to raise their rates and increase profits. [1]
Also sadly, some US commenters cannot (or don't want to) look over their fence to see how stuff can work in other countries. Of course this can still mean stuff can't work, but I'm positive many perspectives can get changed.
Rail companies own the right-of-way AND the rails. They control what runs on their rails, who runs on their rails, when they run, etc.
It's quite something to think that 97% of the rail tracks in the USA are privately owned.
https://public.railinc.com/about-railinc/blog/who-owns-railr...