European Railroad Discussion > UK's trains no longer run by UK companies

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2018/01/02/britains-railways-already-state-owned-just-not-uk/

Interesting article pointing out the degree of foreign ownership of British passenger operations (and I guess, freight operations as well). There was a similar article on the NY Times recently, but I can't find it.

I was aware that DB had made inroads in the UK freight business, but didn't realize that most of the passenger business is now owned by EU companies (many of which are essentially government entities) and that some of the passenger franchises are now held by Chinese companies. Really?

I wonder how the people who voted for Brexit view this. If you're a strong nationalist in your world view, this has to stick in your craw.

And then the irony, that the country that built so many railroads on so many continents now has overwhelmingly foreign ownership at home, wow.

march_hare Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2018/01/02/bri
> tains-railways-already-state-owned-just-not-uk/
>
> Interesting article pointing out the degree of
> foreign ownership of British passenger operations
> (and I guess, freight operations as well). There
> was a similar article on the NY Times recently,
> but I can't find it.
>
> I was aware that DB had made inroads in the UK
> freight business, but didn't realize that most of
> the passenger business is now owned by EU
> companies (many of which are essentially
> government entities) and that some of the
> passenger franchises are now held by Chinese
> companies. Really?
>
> I wonder how the people who voted for Brexit view
> this. If you're a strong nationalist in your
> world view, this has to stick in your craw.
>
> And then the irony, that the country that built so
> many railroads on so many continents now has
> overwhelmingly foreign ownership at home, wow.


Britain really doesn't do much these days. The health care is largely done by foreign-born people.

Brexit, of course, was a fraud.

A large percentage of the people who voted for Brexit don't think too deeply about things like who actually owns the companies operating in the UK.

But to be honest does it really matter who owns the companies which operate in your country - if they're providing good jobs? There are plenty of foreign-owned companies operating in the US also.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/15/18 13:37 by exhaustED.

It's the same in energy, of the six big energy suppliers in Britain (note Britain NOT the UK - Northern Ireland is a separate case in most ways) four are owned by European entities, all associated with their home country's governments; France, Germany & Spain.

Does this matter? Not really, at least not until the interest of the overseas company starts to diverge from the interests of the British governments.

86235 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It's the same in energy, of the six big energy
> suppliers in Britain (note Britain NOT the UK -
> Northern Ireland is a separate case in most ways)
> four are owned by European entities, all
> associated with their home country's governments;
> France, Germany & Spain.
>
> Does this matter? Not really, at least not until
> the interest of the overseas company starts to
> diverge from the interests of the British
> governments.

Precisely my approach. I have no problems paying my electric bill to National Grid (UK) or my gas bill to Iberdola (Spain) here in the US. Most low- information voters here don’t even know they’re foreign companies, and as long as they behave like good rapacious western capitalists, there’s no issue. But I’m not so sure what the reaction would be if that degree of international ownership became a political football.

In the West, “ multi-national corporations” is really a misnomer. They aren’t really multi national; rather, they are their own nations.

It doesn’t seem to me that Chinese or Russian companies fit in this category. Can anybody name a business enterprise from either that is confidently independent of the home government?

I seriously worry about the worldwide trend toward hyper nationalism.

reindeerflame Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

>
> Britain really doesn't do much these days. The
> health care is largely done by foreign-born
> people.

If you live in rural US towns, the odds are that the doctor or specialist you will see is foreign born and educated with a Green Card issued to doctors willing to work at small rural hospitals and clinics. My town had a Serbian born and educated doctor who had become a Canadian citizen and was here under the program. She left recently after INS was dragging its feet over renewing her Green Card. She was down to two months left and couldn't live with the uncertainty and the clinic could not schedule appointments for a doctor who might not be there.