Transport Act 1968

Transfer of assets, etc

4 Transfer to Freight Corporation of certain securities, rights and liabilities

(1) On the appointed day for the purposes of this subsection—

(a) the securities of the bodies listed in Part I of Schedule 3 to this Act, so far as beneficially owned on that day by the Holding Company or by any wholly-owned subsidiary of that Company, and

(b) the securities of the bodies listed in Part II of that Schedule, so far as beneficially owned on that day by the Railways Board, and

(c) any rights or liabilities on that day of that Company or subsidiary or, as the case may be, of that Board regarding the securities of any of those bodies, and

(d) the right to any money owed on that day to that Company or subsidiary or, as the case may be, to that Board by any of those bodies, and

(e) the liability represented by any money owed on that day by that Company or subsidiary or, as the case may be, by that Board to any of those bodies, and

(f) any rights and liabilities of that Company on that day in connection with B.R.S. Federation Limited, and

(g) any rights and liabilities of the Holding Company by virtue of paragraph 5(a) or (d) of Schedule 5 to the Act of 1962,

shall, subject to subsection (3) of this section, be transferred to, and by virtue of this Act vest in, the Freight Corporation.

(2) The Minister may by order made not later than the appointed day aforesaid add to Part I or Part II of the said Schedule 3 any body not for the time being listed in that Part if the Minister is satisfied—

(a) that the activities of the body are similar to those of the bodies for the time being listed in one or other of those Parts; and

(b) that the Holding Company or a wholly-owned subsidiary of that Company or, as the case may be, the Railways Board are for the time being the beneficial owners of any securities of that body.

(3) Where any of the securities aforesaid are beneficially owned as mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (1) of this section but held by a nominee, that subsection shall operate only to transfer the beneficial interest in the securities; and paragraphs (d) and (e) of that subsection shall not apply to money owed in the ordinary course of trading.

(4) The rights and liabilities of the Holding Company under such agreements for the rendering of personal services by persons who immediately before the appointed day aforesaid are employed by the Holding Company as may be determined in accordance with arrangements agreed between that Company and the Corporation before that day or, in default of such agreement, in accordance with such arrangements as the Minister may before that day direct, shall on that day be transferred to, and by virtue of this Act vest in, the Corporation.

(5) Paragraph 2(3) and (4) of Schedule 4 to this Act shall apply to any transfer under subsection (4) of this section, and paragraphs 1 to 13 of that Schedule shall apply to any transfer under that subsection or subsection (1) of this section.

5 Formation by Railways Board of, and transfer to Freight Corporation of shares in, subsidiary companies

(1) The Railways Board shall take steps to the satisfaction of the Minister to effect, not later than two days before the appointed day for the purposes of the transfer referred to in subsection (3)(b) of this section, the separation from the remainder of their undertaking of those parts thereof concerned respectively with—

(a) the carriage of freightliner containers and other high capacity containers (other than container traffic consigned from private railway sidings); and

(b) the following activities, namely—

(i) the carriage of the freight traffic commonly known as rail sundries traffic; and

(ii) the collection and delivery of goods by road otherwise than by way of such carriage as is mentioned in paragraph (a) of this subsection,

but excluding the provision of rail vehicles for, and the haulage by rail of, the containers referred to in paragraph (a) or, as the case may be, the traffic referred to in paragraph (b)(i) of this subsection; and the Board shall from time to time furnish the Minister with such information as he may require with respect to the property, rights and liabilities which the Board propose to treat as included in each respectively of those parts of their undertaking, and the Minister may give directions to the Board as to the property, rights and liabilities to be so treated.

(2) The Railways Board shall secure that, not later than two days before the appointed day aforesaid, two wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Board are formed of which—

(a) one (hereafter in this section referred to as " the freight-liner company") shall be formed with the object of carrying on such activities as are mentioned in subsection (1)(a) of this section; and

(b) the other (hereafter in this section referred to as " the freight sundries company ") shall be formed with the object of carrying on such activities as are mentioned in subsection (1)(b) of this section;

and all securities of those companies shall be issued, as the Railways Board may direct (after consultation, in the case of fifty-one per cent. in nominal value of the securities of the freightliner company and in the case of all the securities of the freight sundries oompany, with the Freight Corporation), to the Board or to such other person or persons as the Board may nominate to hold them.

(3) Subject to subsection (4) of this section—

(a) on the day before the appointed day aforesaid there shall be transferred to, and by virtue of this Act vest in, the freightliner company and the freight sundries company respectively all the property, rights and liabilities comprised in the part of the Railways Board's undertaking referred to in paragraph (a) or, as the case may be, paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of this section; and

(b) on the appointed day there shall be transferred to, and by virtue of this Act vest in, the Freight Corporation the aforesaid fifty-one per cent. of the securities of the freightliner company and all the securities of the freight sundries company.

(4) Schedule 4 to this Act shall apply to any transfer under paragraph (a), and paragraphs 7 to 13 of that Schedule shall apply to any transfer under paragraph (b), of subsection (3) of this section, and the said paragraph (a) shall have effect subject to the provisions of that Schedule; and, in the case of any securities held by any person other than the Railways Board, the said paragraph (b) shall operate only to transfer the beneficial interest in those securities.

(5) For the period of five years beginning with the appointed day aforesaid the Minister may make to the Freight Corporation grants of such amount for each respectively of those years payable in such manner as the Minister may with the approval of the Treasury determine towards any loss which it is estimated will be incurred in that year by the Corporation or the freight sundries company in the carrying on of such activities as are referred to in subsection (1)(b) of this section; but the aggregate amount of those grants shall not exceed £60 million.