Railways Act 1993

37 Proposals to discontinue non-franchised etc. passenger services

(1) In any case where—

(a) all the railway passenger services on any line or from any station are provided otherwise than in satisfaction of requirements imposed by a franchise agreement and otherwise than on behalf of the Franchising Director, and

(b) the person providing those services (in this section referred to as “the service operator”) proposes to discontinue all such services on that line or from that station (in this section referred to as a closure),

then, unless the closure is certified by the Regulator as being a minor closure, the service operator shall give notice of the proposal to the Franchising Director not less than three months before the date specified pursuant to subsection (3)(b) below as that on which the service operator will cease providing the services (the “service operator’s withdrawal date”) and shall not discontinue those services before that date.

(2) In determining for the purposes of paragraph (a) of subsection (1) above whether all the railway passenger services on a line or from a station are provided as mentioned in that paragraph, there shall be left out of account any services—

(a) which involve travel through the Channel Tunnel;

(b) which are experimental passenger services, within the meaning of section 48 below, or which are provided on an experimental basis, for the purposes of section 56A of the [1962 c. 46.] Transport Act 1962;

(c) which are provided otherwise than as regular scheduled services for that line or for that station, as the case may be; or

(d) which are designated, or which are of a class or description designated, by order under section 49(2) below as services in relation to which this section is not to have effect;

and this section shall not have effect in relation to any services falling within paragraphs (a) to (d) above.

(3) A notice under subsection (1) above shall be accompanied by a statement of—

(a) the service operator’s reasons for the proposal;

(b) the date on which he will cease providing the services in question; and

(c) any alternative transport services which appear to the service operator to be available.

(4) Where notice is given to the Franchising Director under subsection (1) above, he must consider, and form an opinion on, the question whether the proposed closure should or should not be permitted to take effect.

(5) If the Franchising Director is of the opinion that the proposed closure should not be permitted to take effect, he shall be under a duty to secure the provision of the services in question after the service operator’s withdrawal date.

(6) If the Franchising Director is of the opinion that the proposed closure should be permitted to take effect, he shall publish in two successive weeks in a local newspaper circulating in the area affected and in two national newspapers, and in such other manner as appears to him to be appropriate, a notice containing—

(a) particulars of the proposal to effect the closure,

(b) particulars of the date on which it is proposed that the closure will take effect,

(c) particulars of any alternative transport services which appear to him to be available,

(d) the addresses of the premises at which a statement of the reasons for the proposed closure can be inspected, or from which a copy of that statement can be obtained, and any fees payable for copies of the statement,

(e) a statement that objections to the proposed closure may be lodged with the Regulator within such period as may be specified for the purpose in the notice (being not less than six weeks from the date of the last publication of the notice in a local newspaper),

and shall be under a duty during the interim period to secure the provision of the services to which the proposed closure relates.

(7) The reasons contained in the statement referred to in subsection (6)(d) above may consist of or include the reasons included in the statement under subsection (3) above, with or without other reasons of the Franchising Director's.

(8) Without prejudice to the provisions of section 38 below in relation to the services in question—

(a) if the final decision on the closure question is that the proposed closure will not be allowed to take effect, the Franchising Director shall be under a duty to secure the provision of those services after the interim period; and

(b) if the final decision on the closure question is that the proposed closure will be allowed to take effect subject to compliance with conditions, the Franchising Director shall be under a duty to comply with those conditions or to secure that they are complied with.

(9) In this section—

• “the area affected” means the area in which is situated the station or, as the case may be, the line mentioned in subsection (1) above;

• “the final decision on the closure question” means—

  (a)

  in a case where the decision of the Regulator under section 43(9) below with respect to the proposed closure is not referred to the Secretary of State under section 44 below, that decision; or

  (b)

  in a case where that decision is referred to the Secretary of State under section 44 below, the disposal of that reference by the Secretary of State;

• “the interim period” means the period beginning immediately after the service operator’s withdrawal date and ending four weeks after the date of the final decision on the closure question;

• “minor closure” means the discontinuance of services on any stretch of line along which there is no station (or no station in use) where the circumstances are, in the opinion of the Regulator, such that—

  (a)

  any trains that would otherwise use that stretch of line in travelling between any two stations will instead pass along an alternative route; and

  (b)

  any passengers travelling on any such trains will not be required to make any additional change of train and will not incur any significant increase in the time which their journey takes.

(10) The railway passenger services which are to be regarded for the purposes of this section as provided on behalf of the Franchising Director are those whose provision he is for the time being under a duty to secure in consequence of—

(a) section 30 above,

(b) subsection (5) or (8)(a) above,

(c) section 38(6)(a) below, or

(d) any closure condition imposed under section 43(9) or 44(2) below.

(11) Any sums received by the Franchising Director under this section shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund.