Freightliner answers
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• Further details are about to emerge on the sale of the intermodal container handler Freightliner as its owner, British Rail, prepares to publish a memorandum on the sell off.
The memorandum will answer queries already voiced by potential purchasers but it is not expected to say whether the Government should offer a subsidy to the buyer of the lossmaking enterprise.
That issue is a "political matter for Government", according to Freightliner's immediate parent, Railfreight Distribution.
Last year Freightliner lost £39.3m on a turnover of £70m. It plans to expand its more profitable international arm once the Channel Tunnel opens. But it is becoming likely that the jobs of Freightliner's 1,500
employees will not be protected after the sale.
The new owner will be free to renegotiate terms and conditions and make redundancies. One of the bidders, a consortium of P&G and Russell Davies, says it will cut haulage costs.
The memorandum will also detail Freightliner's physical assets, including 267 tractive units and 700 trailers.