The "Trains" and "Railway Age" magazine websites are no longer free. (Damn!) I dug up a few articles that were critical about British Rail privatization, but I can no longer access the key articles anymore. But try
here and
here for some stuff I dug up that might be useful.
I have heard that some freight railways are OK with Amtrak having their own tracks built on the existing right of ways, tho I am not sure what sort of compensation might be envisioned.