The last major piece in the dismantling of the 125-piece British Rail jigsaw was removed on November 21,1997, when the much-delayed sale of Railf reight Distribution (Rf D) to the American-owned English, Welsh & Scottish Railway was completed. RfD was BR's cross-Channel freight division and officially went under EWS control from one minute past midnight on November 22. EWS had been named as preferred bidder for Rf D in December 1996, but the European Commission had delayed approval of a ￡247m State aid 'dowry' the UK Government had agreed to pay EWS to restructure the business.
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