Aboard the Eurostar, United Kingdom (AFP) — Aboard the Eurostar high-speed train that links the European mainland to Britain, the reality of Britain’s vote to leave the EU divided passengers bound for London Friday.

Among Britons returning to a very different country to the one they left, there was speculation over what the vote for Brexit would mean practically.

David Small, a 43-year-old engineer originally from Nottingham — a city in central England that narrowly voted in favour of leave — said he was “not disappointed” by the result, but added that he didn’t “know what to expect… there are too many unknowns”.

His colleague, Mark Russell a supporter of the pro-EU camp who was unable to cast his ballot because of last-minute commitments, was less sanguine about the risks facing Britain.

“I’m surprised. There is a lot of uncertainty for many years that will affect the cost of living. It’s a big change for all the countries, the beginning of the collapse of EU,” he said.

“We work in a global company, with factories in France, Poland.

“A decision has been made. The majority has spoken.”

Visceral… racist instincts

But for some, the aftermath of the vote could have financial benefits as the pound tanks against the dollar and listed British companies take a battering on the global markets.

Bill Desang, a 55-year-old travelling in Europe, said that Brexit was “probably not a good thing” adding that “people are concerned about immigrants” which may have contributed the outcome of the vote.

“I’ll get to buy my beer cheaper,” he said.

Thomas Linder, a German lawyer who splits his time between Paris, Brussels and Berlin, visiting London four times a year, described the outcome of the vote as “really stupid” and “a real setback”, adding that pro-Brexit voters had made a “serious mistake… everybody loses”.

“It’s like a divorce, nobody wants to see it… it’s not the end of the EU,” he said in the train’s buffet car where he joked about whether it would be cheaper to pay for his coffee in euros or pounds.

For some travellers the uncertainty caused by the monumental vote may have a silver lining.

“I was not expecting it at all. They were wrong,” said, Stephanie, a 33-year-old from France travelling to London for the weekend, before adding wryly: “But it has increased our purchasing power.”

Aside from the prospect of budget pints and cheap pounds, one passenger suggested that Britain’s global image had been badly damaged by the sometimes toxic Brexit campaign and its aftermath.

“It’s truly a shock. We have seen visceral… racist instincts,” said Jacques Beauvais, a 59-year-old from France.

“We are dwarfs in Europe compared to the growing economies of Asia or the United States, there was a lack of maturity in the debate.

“It’s at moments like this that I reconnect with my European identity. Anyway, for the Americans we are European before being French.”

Beauvais, who was travelling to Britain with several bottles of champagne to celebrate his daughter’s imminent marriage to an Englishman, added: “It annoys me to have to open champagne with news like this.”