UK Offence Report

The Railways Regulations 1998

UK Statutory Instrument 1998 No. 1340 — creates 2 criminal offences.

2offences created
0recorded in force
2revoked
Made
30 May 1998
In force from
27 June 1998
Extent
Not stated
Subject
Transport: maritime, aviation, rail and harbours
Made under
European Communities Act 1972

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Regulations) — published with the instrument by the department that made it. © Crown copyright, reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

These Regulations implement Council Directive 91/440/EEC of 29 July 1991 (OJ No. L237, 24.8.91, p. 25) on the development of the Community’s railways and Council Directives 95/18/EC and 95/19/EC of 19 June 1995 on the licensing of railway undertakings and on the allocation of railway infrastructure capacity and the charging of infrastructure fees (OJ No. L143/75, 27.6.95, p. 70—75). They revoke the Railways Regulations 1992 and the Railways (Amendment) Regulations 1994 (which originally implemented Council Directive 91/440/EEC), and amend certain provisions of the Railways Act 1993 in relation to licensing of operators of railway assets and access rights. With the exception of paragraphs 6 to 8 of Schedule 2, the Regulations do not apply to Northern Ireland. The Regulations require any railway undertaking which is also an infrastructure manager to prepare and maintain accounts separately for the provision of transport services and infrastructure management (regulation 5), and require any infrastructure manager to ensure that the expenditure on railway infrastructure he incurs does not exceed the income he receives from infrastructure fees (regulation 6). They lay down requirements as to the fees to be charged by infrastructure managers for the use of railway undertakings who will in return provide the International Rail Regulator (appointed by the Secretary of State under regulation 9) with such information as he needs to determine whether fees are charged on a non-discriminatory basis (regulations 7 and 8 and Schedule 1). The Secretary of State is empowered to appoint one or more infrastructure managers to be allocation bodies responsible for handling applications for railway infrastructure capacity (regulation 10). Detailed procedures for the handling of applications for infrastructure capacity are specified in regulation 11 where the application is made to an allocation body in Great Britain, and in regulation 12 where the application is made elsewhere in the European Union. Railway undertakings aggrieved by a decision of an allocation body may appeal to the International Rail Regulator (regulation 14). The unlicensed provision of international services is made a criminal offence (regulation 15). The International Rail Regulator is appointed as the authority to issue international licences (regulation 16). Applicants for such licences must satisfy requirements as to good repute, professional competence, financial fitness and third party liabilities (regulation 16 and Schedule 3). Such licences are valid for as long as the licence holder complies with these Regulations and any licence conditions (regulation 18). The International Rail Regulator is empowered to monitor and suspend or revoke such licences in certain circumstances (regulation 19). The Railways Act 1993 is amended to take account of the new access and licensing regimes established by the Regulations (regulation 21). International groupings and railways undertakings are given statutory authority in respect of the provision of international services in exercise of rights granted under the regulations (regulation 22). Such groupings and undertakings are not to be common carriers in respect of the provision of such services (regulation 23). Certain enactments concerning railways are applied in respect of those services whether or not they would otherwise apply (regulation 24). Any person affected by a refusal or failure to comply with obligations arising under the regulations referred to in regulation 26, and who suffers loss or damage caused by the refusal or failure, may bring a civil action, and the International Rail Regulator may seek to enforce compliance by civil proceedings for an injunction or interdict (regulation 26). It is an offence knowingly to provide false information under or for the purpose of the Regulations (regulation 27). The disclosure of information obtained under the Regulations is restricted in the same way as information obtained under the Railways Act 1993 (regulation 29).

Offences created by this instrument

How Parliament handled it

Parliament's Statutory Instruments service records procedure from May 2017 onwards, and this instrument predates it. That is a limit of the source, not a statement that nothing happened.

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