The benefits of privatisation

[bluethrunthru]

I was hearing yesterday that Network Rail are selling off all their railway arches. The ones that house loads of businesses - garages, bars, gyms and so on - to raise capital. Now these aren't being sold off piecemeal to benefit business owners who may want a bit of stability to own their own premises with the freehold - oh no they are being sold as one huge job lot. Step forward private equity firms who the guy from NR will want to "invest in this established property market". Business owners were concerned about what this means for their future. The guy from NR was pointing out that tenants have the security of their tenancy agreement but business owners pointed out that they have increasingly been moved onto 6 month terms.................watch this space for complaints over rent rises.

As a clue to where it is likely to go think of the old directory enquiries. When that was sold off if you recall there was outrage that a formerly free service was going to cost something between 50p to £1. Today the regulator said they wanted to cap a 90 second call to a 118 line to £3.10 for a 90min call. The market leader 118 118 ( which I believe was the old directory enq's ) charge £11.23 ( yes ELEVEN POUNDS AND TWENTY THREE PENCE ) for a 90 second call !

 

[urban genie]

So the arches will be owned by some foriegn or british investor, does that include the bridge and tracks layed above them?

Water and reservior infrastructure is owned by private firms
Gas and electricity infrastructure is owned privately
Ports and docks and some beaches owned privately
Railway services local buses ran by state providers from other nations or owned privately.
Airports owned privately also we have no national carrier.
Vast areas of the capital owned privately
Telecomunications owned privately.

So this country we are now getting back our soviegnty back apparently isn't owned by us anyway.

Not even third world countries as stupid enough to sell everything off.

 

[bluethrunthru]

So the arches will be owned by some foriegn or british investor, does that include the bridge and tracks layed above them?

Water and reservior infrastructure is owned by private firms
Gas and electricity infrastructure is owned privately
Ports and docks and some beaches owned privately
Railway services local buses ran by state providers from other nations.
Airpots owned privately
Vast areas of the capital owned privately
Telecomunications owned privately.

So this country we are now getting back our soviegnty back apparently isn't owned by us anyway.

Not even third world countries as stupid enough to sell everything off.

No NR will own the tracks................great idea eh? You can't upgrade the West Coast mainline coz a dude in Hong Kong who owns the arches won't let you........ but hey NR will have a few £mil to pump into their balance sheets to make the share price rise so alls well.

 

[malg]

Oh, I don't think you need to be a raving Leftie to see where this is going.

 

[worsleyweb]

No you just own the space within the arch. Not the structure above. I have had many meetings with network rail about the arches in greengate. It is a multi billion pound sale nationally. There are thousands of arches across the country. Many in Manchester will make great spaces eventually as the space within the inner ring road gets more congested for space.

Will probably be bought by a uk pension fund I would imagine.

 

[jimharri]

Well; if nothing else, this thread should put to bed the notion someone mentioned a few days back that this forum has gone "right wing".

 

[blueinsa]

Have the Russians been blamed yet?

 

[Fame Monster]

"I'm still old enough to remember British rail"

 

[johnnytapia]

My old (East) German teacher used to love regaling us with communist tales of her life under Honecker et al:

To quote Frau Braun:
'The telephone in our house broke down, so my father rang the Staats Telefon department and asked for a date when the engineer could come and repair it.
“The next available slot is in 4 yrs, two weeks and four days.”
"Will that be in the morning or the afternoon?”
“Why do you ask?”
"We’ve got the plumber coming round in the morning”

 

[bluethrunthru]

Love how the right in BM seek to distract anything they don't like with "funny" stories and untruths.