> bidding for the multi-year contract to operate a line is a poor proxy for But that was never the reason why railway operations and railway track exploration

> bidding for the multi-year contract to operate a line is a poor proxy for But that was never the reason why railway operations and railway track exploration and maintenance was split, was it? The whole point of splitting railway operations from track exploration was to ensure that any railway operator in Europe is free to explore any connection that they wish, provided they pay for the track usage and that the track has free capacity. That's the whole point. This separation from track exploration and railway operations has been a collosal success in Europe, with multiple private and even public companies stepping up to serve international corridors even with high-speed railway services.