Italy Has Cutting Edge High Speed Rail Technology and Competition

Even though Italy is a socialist country, there are two large high speed rail companies competing, one is called Frecciarossa, and the other is Italo, created by the CEO of Ferrari.

Italo is Europe's first private high speed rail company. In 2003, Italy passed a law that ended the government train monopoly. Four businessmen, including the CEO of Ferrari, Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, started the Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori company and opened service in 2012.

The Italo runs on the Italian government owned rails, and has to pay $156 million per year in order to use the government infrastructure.

America has no competition like this for railroads. The American government took over the failing railroad industries in the 1950s and now there is a government railroad monopoly.

With the problems of efficiency in rail systems like the New York city subway, why isn't and anyone talking about privatizing the operation of the system?

There plenty of problems with Amtrak and the New York City subway, both could be much more efficient and cost effective, without a government monopoly or expensive workers unions.