6(1)Any directions given on an application for directions or under this Schedule shall be binding on the person to whom they are given, notwithstanding any obligation or duty he may owe to an interested person and whether or not the interested person has had an opportunity to make representations.E+W+S
(2)No interested person, and no successor to an interested person, shall take any step for the purpose of enforcing or exercising any right he may have against the facility owner in respect of, or in consequence of, the facility owner’s—
(a)entering into an access contract pursuant to directions under section 17 of this Act,
(b)performing such a contract in accordance with its terms, or
(c)failing to take any step to protect the interests of the interested person in connection with the application for directions, or the making of the access contract,
whether or not the interested person had, or has had, an opportunity to make representations.
(3)The duty of the facility owner to furnish [F1the Office of Rail and Road] with the name and address of every interested person pursuant to a direction under paragraph 4 above is a duty owed to each interested person and (subject to the defences and incidents applying in actions for breach of statutory duty) any contravention of that duty shall be actionable at the suit or instance of the interested person and the facility owner shall be liable for any loss or damage suffered by the interested person as a result of any access contract which is entered into in consequence of the application for directions.
(4)It shall be a defence in any proceedings brought by virtue of sub-paragraph (3) above for the facility owner to show that he took all reasonable steps, and exercised all due diligence, to avoid contravening the duty in question.
(5)In this paragraph “successor”, in relation to an interested person, means any person—
(a)who is a successor in title to the interested person; or
(b)whose rights derive directly or indirectly from the interested person.
Textual Amendments
F1Words in Sch. 4 substituted (16.10.2015) by The Office of Rail Regulation (Change of Name) Regulations 2015 (S.I. 2015/1682), reg. 1(2), Sch. para. 1(bbb)