I'll be testifying tomorrow before the Highways & Transportation Committee of the Washington State Senate about something like this, based on the financing paradigm of the Trans-Texas Corridors.
That said, I have to say that the British privatization paradigm has been a catastrophic failure and has been responsible for the spate of train accidents they've had in the past few years. I'm going to look up an article about this, and if I can find it, I'll post a link.
The aspect of the British system that I'm in favor of is the general idea of separating rail operations into distinct service-provider / infrastructure management segments.
In my (admittedly limited) experience, rail travel in the UK is fairly efficient and comfortable compared to Amtrak. I'd be interested in your opinion on why the privatization of British Rail has been disastrous.
Best wishes on your testimony. I'm a big supporter of the Trans-Texas Corridor initiative. Let me know if I may be of service.