Selling transportation doesn't make it not rent extraction: these companies were given the land they operate on, plus government bonds to offset their capital e

Selling transportation doesn't make it not rent extraction: these companies were given the land they operate on, plus government bonds to offset their capital expenses. Most operate as monopolies or duopolies in their regions, which is the efficient condition for rent-seeking behavior. (The fact that they experience brisk competition from other subsidized forms of transportation doesn't alter this.)