> Franchising typically is about giving license to a franchisee allowing them to use intellectual property, know-how, products and so on in exchange for a fee a

> Franchising typically is about giving license to a franchisee allowing them to use intellectual property, know-how, products and so on in exchange for a fee and adhering to a set of obligations Note that over the past 15 years or so, the franchises have had much more in way of obligations set on them from on-high (the Department of Transport, Transport Scotland, and Transport for Wales) than British Rail ever did, and in many ways the service provision is much more micromanaged by political motives than has historically been the case. That said, due to the nature of franchising it was often the franchisee that took the blame for the franchiser's decisions in setting the contract (and _many_, nay, _most_ of the problems with the GB rail network come from government decisions).