The Carriage of Explosives by Rail Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001

Suitability of containers, packages and wagons

7.—(1) An operator of any container or wagon shall not cause nor permit to be carried in it any explosives unless the container or wagon concerned—

(a) is suitable for the purpose of such carriage; and

(b) has been adequately maintained.

(2) A train operator shall not cause nor permit to be carried in his train any explosives in any container or wagon unless he has taken all reasonable steps to ensure that it complies with paragraph (1).

(3) A train operator shall not cause nor permit to be carried in his train any explosives in a package unless he has taken all reasonable steps to ensure that the package—

(a) is suitable for such carriage; and

(b) has been adequately maintained.

(4) In this regulation the expression “suitable for such carriage” means suitable having regard to—

(a) the nature and circumstances of the journey to be undertaken; and

(b) the hazardous properties and quantities of the explosives and of all other goods to be carried with them.

(5) An operator of any large container shall not cause nor permit any explosives to be carried in it unless it is checked before loading to ensure that—

(a) it is free from any residue of a previous load; and

(b) the interior floor and walls are free from protrusions.

(6) An operator of any large container, which has corner fittings for the purpose of securing or handling it and which is of a size such that the area enclosed by the outer bottom corners is either—

(a) if the container is fitted with top corner fittings, at least 7 square metres; or

(b) in any other case, at least 14 square metres,

shall not cause nor permit any explosives to be carried in it unless it complies with the requirements of the International Convention for Safe Containers 1972 signed at Geneva on 2nd December 1972 and ratified by the United Kingdom on 8th March 1978 (published by the International Maritime Organisation, 4th Edition, 1996).

(7) No operator of any large container which—

(a) is 6 or more metres long; or

(b) is—

(i) 2.991 metres long, and

(ii) 2.438, 2.5 or 2.6 metres wide,

shall cause or permit to be carried in it any explosives unless that container complies with the requirements of those International Union of Railways UIC leaflets particularised in paragraph (8).

(8) The leaflets referred to in paragraph (7) are—

(a) 590-10th edition, 1st January 1979 (as amended on 1st July 1979, and in 1981, 1985 and 1994 and updated on 1st January 1989);

(b) 592-2-5th edition of 1st July 1996;

(c) 592-3-1st edition, 1st July 1977 (as amended in 1979 and 1985); and

(d) 592-4-1st edition, 1985 (as amended in 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992 and 1995 and reprinted on 1st July 1995).

(9) No operator of any large container shall cause or permit to be carried in it any explosives unless the requirements specified in Schedule 3 are complied with.

(10) In this regulation, “corner fittings” means an arrangement of apertures and faces at either the top or the bottom or both at the top and the bottom of the container for the purposes of handling, stacking and securing or any of those purposes.