 In March 1995, Major refused to answer the phone calls of United States President Bill Clinton for several days because of his anger at Clinton's decision to invite Gerry Adams to the White House for St Patrick's Day.From 1994 to 1997, Major privatised British Rail, splitting it up into franchises to be run by the private sector.The process was controversial at the time, and the effect of privatising the railway is still disputed, with large growth in passenger numbers and increasing fiscal efficiency matched by large public subsidy high ticket prices and concern about foreign companies running British railways.