British Steel on verge of administration: Impact on Network Rail?

[Meerkat]

Anyone else assuming that NR would have been leant on?
Letting BS go bust then a nationalised railway company buying foreign rail - I think “bad optics” is the phrase the politicians use??

 

[TrainBoy98]

Anyone else assuming that NR would have been leant on?
Letting BS go bust then a nationalised railway company buying foreign rail - I think “bad optics” is the phrase the politicians use??

A possible way around the government's "we're not allowed to nationalise it" comments?

 

[Taunton]

I most certainly don't want to get into any political ping-pong. But how can British Steel have been excluded from the steel credits scheme, but then included in the other half of the calculation for the payments. Are they in the scheme, when both sides count, or out of the scheme, when neither count?

 

[edwin_m]

Sounds like one of the many consequences of Brexit that the Brexiteers either didn't know about or didn't tell us about.

 

[fowler9]

I wondered how long before someone brought Brexit into a straightforward question about how NR could be affected by the loss of a UK based supplier.

Yeah because leaving the EU will have no impact at all on the loss of a UK based supplier. Ha ha. Oooh project fear.

 

[deltic]

Anyone else assuming that NR would have been leant on?
Letting BS go bust then a nationalised railway company buying foreign rail - I think “bad optics” is the phrase the politicians use??

As they are one of ten companies that expressed an interest its unlikely, rather they are probably more concerned about ensuring future supplies post Brexit

 

[w1bbl3]

Anyone else assuming that NR would have been leant on?
Letting BS go bust then a nationalised railway company buying foreign rail - I think “bad optics” is the phrase the politicians use??

Not really it secures supply of a critical product for NR and would give them control over price vs the unknown if another bidder secured the business unit. The small fact the rail manufacture side was/is profitable probably didn't hurt any business case around making a bid either.