The world of railways is to a large extent operationally and technically driven. Often an “operational blindness” creeps in over time, which leaves potential unseen, e.g. in the context of operational optimisation, stabilisation or in the context of an award procedure. We ask the right and sometimes “heretical” questions in order to raise precisely this potential. We do this with a sense of proportion and understanding for the railway system, so that the successes are sustainable and do not come at the expense of safety or operational stability, for example.