FREIGHTLINER SALE DELAYED AGAIN
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by Karen Miles • The sale of British Rail's road and rail container operator Freightliner looks set to be delayed until the beginning of next year.
It is the latest in a succession of setbacks for the privatisation, which was once due to have been completed by the beginning of 1995.
Road hauliers carrying containers should benefit, as analysts believe shipping lines are under-using Freightliner because of the uncertainty surrounding its sale.
BR insists that the sale of the 500,000 containers a year operator will go ahead by the end of 1995, but observers say this timetable is now impossible.
Rail Freight Group secretary Chris Nicholls says: "I can hear the transport industry and British industry almost sighing, saying they didn't really expect it to happen on time and anyway, will it ever really happen?"
Labour says it will stop privatisation if it gains power, but not reverse the decision if the sale is complete.
Another observer says: "We were told there would be an information memorandum in July and it is now late August and there is still no sign of it. How will the detailed negotiations be completed by the end of December ?"
Loss-making Freightliner operates about 220 tractive units, 550 trailers and more than 1,000 rail wagons from eight UK terminals. BR has been evaluating three bids since October 1994 and in January decided it was setting up Freightliner as a separate company in preparation for the sale.
A management buyout team; a consortium made up of P&O, Russell Davies and the Port of Felixstowe; and a group of ex-Freightliner management and the Maersk shipping line have all publicly stated their interest in the company.