The Railways Infrastructure (Access and Management) Regulations 2005

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations implement Council Directive 91/440/EEC dated 29 July 1991 on the development of the Community’s railways, as amended by Directive 2001/12/EC dated 26 February 2001 and Directive 2004/51/EC dated 29 April 2004, both of the European Parliament and of the Council, and Council Directive 2001/14/EC dated 26 February 2001 on the allocation of railway infrastructure capacity and the levying of charges for the use of railway infrastructure, as amended by Directive 2004/49/EC dated 29 April 2004 on safety on the Community’s railways, both of the European Parliament and of the Council. With noted exceptions relating to amendments to primary legislation, these Regulations do not apply to Northern Ireland.

Part 1 contains preliminary provisions. Part 2 grants access and transit rights to international groupings and freight operators to the entire rail network in Great Britain, including access to terminals and ports linked to the rail network. It also grants all applicants certain rights of access to, and the supply of, the services listed in Schedule 2 to the Regulations.

Part 3 imposes certain separation requirements between the bodies responsible for management of the railway infrastructure (“infrastructure managers”) and railway undertakings. Infrastructure managers are placed under a requirement to produce a network statement containing the information set out in regulation 11.

Part 4, together with Schedule 3, sets out the structure for the charging of fees for the use of railway infrastructure, and the charging principles.

Part 5, together with Schedule 4, sets out the framework and timetable for the process of allocating infrastructure capacity. The trading of capacity is prohibited, and allocation in the form of fixed train paths cannot be granted for longer than one timetable period. Regulations 23 to 25 set out the procedure that must be followed where an element of the railway infrastructure is congested, and regulation 26 provides a “use it or lose it” provision in respect of allocated capacity.

Part 6 allocates certain regulatory functions to the Office of Rail Regulation (“ORR”). Regulation 29 provides a right of appeal to the ORR for applicants aggrieved with various aspects of the allocation of capacity and the fees charged for the use of that capacity, and requires the ORR to make a decision on such appeals within two months. Regulation 30 requires the ORR to monitor competition in the rail services market and to take appropriate action to deal with undesirable developments in the market, either arising out of its own investigations, or from complaints which have been submitted. Regulation 32 provides for the abolition of the International Rail Regulator.

Schedule 1 contains consequential amendments and repeals to the Railways Act 1993, the Channel Tunnel Rail Link Act 1996, and other miscellaneous provisions.

A Regulatory Impact Assessment has been prepared and copies can be obtained from the Department for Transport, Great Minster House, 76 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DR. A copy has been placed in the Library of each House of Parliament.

A copy of the Transposition Note is also available from the Department for Transport.

Copies of the Regulatory Impact Assessment and of the Transposition Note may also be accessed on the HMSO website www.opsi.gov.uk.