As I wrote, not really - at their 'expense' only in the sense that politicians will excuse their lack of investment in that field with high-speed rail, i.e. "see there, I spent x billions on rail".

From this railwayman's perspective, both are needed, high-speed networks and investment into the old network (mainlines AND branchlines).

BTW, you might be interested, I wrote a diary about my view on rail 'reforms' in the EU.

_{*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.}