I1C1C2Part I The Provision of Railway Services

Annotations:
Commencement Information
I1

Pt. I (ss. 1-83) applied (1.4.1994) by 1993 c. 43, ss. 36(2) (inserting s. 10(1)(viiia) in 1968 c. 73); S.I. 1994/571, art. 5

Pt. I (ss. 1-83) applied (18.12.1996) by 1996 c. 61, s. 16(5)

Modifications etc. (not altering text)
C1

Pt. I (ss. 1-83) modified (18.12.1996) by 1996 c. 61, s. 21(6)

C2

Pt. 1 (ss. 1-83) applied (S.) (27.4.2006) by Edinburgh Tram (Line Two) Act 2006 (asp. 6), s.78 (with s.75)

Pt. 1 (ss. 1-83) applied (S.) (8.5.2006) by Edinburgh Tram (Line One) Act 2006 (asp. 7), s.79 (with ss.76, 84)

Introductory

1 The Rail Regulator. . ..

F17. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2F1Passengers’ Committees.

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3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F34. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

I24 General duties of the Secretary of State and the Regulator.

1

F18the Office of Rail RegulationF2shall have a duty to exercise the functions assigned or transferred to F19it under or by virtue of this Part F21or the Railways Act 2005 that are not safety functions in the manner which F19 it considers best calculated—

F28zb

to promote improvements in railway service performance;

a

otherwise to protect the interests of users of railway services;

b

to promote the use of the railway network in Great Britain for the carriage of passengers and goods, and the development of that railway network, to the greatest extent that F19 it considers economically practicable;

F3ba

to contribute to the development of an integrated system of transport of passengers and goods;

bb

to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development;

c

to promote efficiency and economy on the part of persons providing railway services;

d

to promote competition in the provision of railway services F4for the benefit of users of railway services;

e

to promote measures designed to facilitate the making by passengers of journeys which involve use of the services of more than one passenger service operator;

f

to impose on the operators of railway services the minimum restrictions which are consistent with the performance of F20its functions under this Part F21or the Railways Act 2005 that are not safety functions;

g

to enable persons providing railway services to plan the future of their businesses with a reasonable degree of assurance.

2

Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1)(a) above, F18the Office of Rail RegulationF5shall have a duty, in particular, to exercise the functions assigned or transferred to F19 it under or by virtue of this Part F21or the Railways Act 2005 that are not safety functions in the manner which F19 it considers is best calculated to protect—

a

the interests of users and potential users of services for the carriage of passengers by railway provided by a private sector operator otherwise than under a franchise agreement, in respect of—

i

the prices charged for travel by means of those services, and

ii

the quality of the service provided,

F15. . . ; and

b

the interests of persons providing services for the carriage of passengers or goods by railway in their use of any railway facilities which are for the time being vested in a private sector operator, in respect of—

i

the prices charged for such use; and

ii

the quality of the service provided.

3

F18the Office of Rail RegulationF6 shall be under a duty in exercising the functions assigned or transferred to F19 it under or by virtue of this Part F21or the Railways Act 2005 that are not safety functions—

a

to take into account the need to protect all persons from dangers arising from the operation of railways, taking into account, in particular, any advice given to F19 it in that behalf by the Health and Safety Executive; and

b

to have regard to the effect on the environment of activities connected with the provision of railway services.

F73A

Subsections (1) to (3) above shall have effect in relation to the Secretary of State as in relation to F18the Office of Rail Regulation except that in their application to the Secretary of State—

a

F31. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

b

the references in each of the subsections to the functions transferred or assigned to the Secretary of State under or by virtue of this Part include only the functions transferred or assigned to him under or by virtue of sections 6 to 22 and 37 to 50 below.

4

The Secretary of State shall also be under a duty, in exercising the functions assigned or transferred to him under or by virtue of this Part F29or the Railways Act 2005 , to promote the award of franchise agreements to companies in which qualifying railway employees have a substantial interest, “qualifying railway employees” meaning for this purpose persons who are or have been employed in an undertaking which provides or provided the services to which the franchise agreement in question relates at a time before those services begin to be provided under that franchise agreement.

5

F18the Office of Rail Regulation shall also be under a duty in exercising the functions assigned or transferred to F19 it under this Part F25or the Railways Act 2005 that are not safety functions—

F8a

to have regard to any general guidance given to F19 it by the Secretary of State about railway services or other matters relating to railways;

b

to act in a manner which F19 it considers will not render it unduly difficult for persons who are holders of network licences to finance any activities or proposed activities of theirs in relation to which F18the Office of Rail Regulation has functions under or by virtue of this Part F26or that Act (whether or not the activities in question are, or are to be, carried on by those persons in their capacity as holders of such licences); F22. . .

F32c

to have regard to the funds available to the Secretary of State for the purposes of his functions in relation to railways and railway services;

ca

to have regard to any notified strategies and policies of the National Assembly for Wales, so far as they relate to Welsh services or to any other matter in or as regards Wales that concerns railways or railway services;

cb

to have regard to the ability of the National Assembly for Wales to carry out the functions conferred or imposed on it by or under any enactment;

F23d

to have regard to the ability of the Mayor of London, F24. . . and Transport for London to carry out the functions conferred or imposed on them by or under any enactment

F275A

Before giving any guidance for the purposes of subsection (5)(a) above the Secretary of State must consult the National Assembly for Wales.

5B

In exercising its safety functions, other than its functions as an enforcing authority for the purposes of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, the Office of Rail Regulation shall be under a duty to have regard to any general guidance given to it by the Secretary of State.

5C

In performing its duties under subsections (1) to (5A) above in relation to—

a

any matter affecting the interests of users or potential users of railway services,

b

any matter affecting the interests of persons providing railway services, or

c

any matter not falling within paragraph (a) or (b) but falling within subsection (5D),

the Office of Rail Regulation must have regard, in particular, to the interests, in securing value for money, of the persons mentioned in paragraphs (a) and (b) above, of the persons who make available the resources and other funds mentioned in that subsection and of the general public.

5D

A matter falls within this subsection if the Office of Rail Regulation has been informed that—

a

public financial resources (within the meaning of paragraph 1D of Schedule 4A to this Act), or

b

funds that do not comprise such resources but are provided in whole or in part by Transport for London, the National Assembly for Wales, a Passenger Transport Executive or any other body in receipt of such resources,

are or are likely to become available to be applied for purposes connected with that matter.

6

In performing F20its duty under subsection (1)(a) above so far as relating to services for the carriage of passengers by railway or to station services, F18the Office of Rail Regulation shall have regard, in particular, to the interests of persons who are disabled.

7

Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (e) of subsection (1) above, any arrangements for the issue and use of through tickets shall be regarded as a measure falling within that paragraph.

F97ZA

Any general guidance given by the Secretary of State to F18the Office of Rail Regulation about railway services or other matters relating to railways—

a

shall be published by the Secretary of State in such manner as he considers appropriate; and

b

may be varied or revoked.

F107A

Subsections (1) to (6) above do not apply in relation to anything done by F18the Office of Rail Regulation in the exercise of functions assigned to F19it by section 67(3) below (“Competition Act functions”).

7B

F18the Office of Rail Regulation may nevertheless, when exercising any Competition Act function, have regard to any matter in respect of which a duty is imposed by any of subsections (1) to (6) above, if it is a matter to which F11the Office of Fair Trading could have regard when exercising that function.

8

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9

In this section—

  • F12“ the environment” means all , or any, of the following media, namely , the air, water and land (and the medium of air includes the air within buildings and the air within other natural or man-made structures above or below ground);

  • F33“notified strategies and policies”, in relation to the National Assembly for Wales, means the strategies and policies of that Assembly that have been notified by that Assembly for the purposes of this section to the Office of Rail Regulation;

  • “the passenger transport market” means the market for the supply of services for the carriage of passengers, whether by railway or any other means of transport;

  • F30“railway service performance” includes, in particular, performance in securing each of the following in relation to railway services—

    1. a

      reliability (including punctuality);

    2. b

      the avoidance or mitigation of passenger overcrowding; and

    3. c

      that journey times are as short as possible;

  • “safety functions” means functions assigned or transferred to the Office of Rail Regulation—

    1. a

      under this Part,

    2. b

      under or by virtue of the Railways Act 2005, or

    3. c

      under or by virtue of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974,

    so far as they are being exercised for the railway safety purposes (within the meaning of Schedule 3 to the Railways Act 2005) or for purposes connected with those purposes.

  • F13. . .

    1. a

      . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

    2. b

      . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F145. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .