The Railways Infrastructure (Access, Management and Licensing of Railway Undertakings) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016

Duty of certain persons to furnish information to the Department or the Office of Rail and Road

36.—(1) The infrastructure manager, applicant, service provider, allocation body, charging body or any other party shall be under a duty to furnish to the Department or the Office of Rail and Road, in such form and manner as requested, such information as is required, being information which the Department or the office of Rail and Road considers necessary for the purpose of facilitating the performance of any functions of the Department or the office of Rail and Road, or any other function or activity in relation to railway services.

(2) Holder of European licences shall be under a duty to furnish to the office of Rail and Road, in such form and manner as it may by notice request, such information as it may so request, being information which the Office of Rail and Road considers necessary for the purpose of facilitating the performance of any of its functions under any instrument made for the purpose of implementing Directive 2004/49/EC dated 29^th April 2004(1), both of the European Parliament and of the Council, and Directive 2012/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21^st November 2012.

(3) A request under subsections (1) and (2) above must be complied with within such time (being not less than 28 days from the making of the request) as may be specified in the request.

(4) If a request under subsection (1) above is not complied with, the Department or the office of Rail and Road may serve a notice under subsection (6) below on the person from whom the information was requested under subsection (1) above.

(5) If a request under subsection (2) above is not complied with, the Office of Rail and Road may serve a notice under subsection (6) below on the person from whom the information was requested under subsection (2) above.

(6) A notice under this subsection is a notice signed by the Department or the Office of Rail and Road and requiring the person on whom it is served to produce, at a time and place specified in the notice, to the Department or to the Office of Rail and Road, any documents which are specified or described in the notice and are in that person’s custody or under this control.

(7) No person shall be required under this section to produce any documents which he could not be compelled to produce in civil proceedings in the court, or, in complying with any requirement for the furnishing of information, to give any information which he could not be compelled to give in evidence in any such proceedings.

(8) A person who intentionally alters, suppresses or destroys any document which he has been required by any notice under subsection (6) above to produce, is guilty of an offence and shall be liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or

(b) on conviction or indictment, to a fine.

(9) If a person makes default in complying with a notice under subsection (6) above, the court may, on the application of the Department or the office of Rail and Road in the case of a request under subsection (1) above, or the Office of Rail and Road in the case of a request under subsection (2) above, make such order as the court thinks fit for requiring the default to be made good; and any such order may provide that all the costs or expenses of and incidental to the application, shall be borne by the person in default or by any officers of a company or other association who are responsible for its default.

(10) Any reference in this section to the production of a document includes a reference to the production of a legible and intelligible copy of information recorded otherwise than in legible form; and the reference to suppressing a document includes a reference to destroying the means of reproducing information recorded otherwise than in legible form.

(11) In this section “the court” means the Court of Judicature.

(1)

O.J. No. L164, 30.04.2004, p.44-133