51.—(1) Section 35 (closures eligible to be treated as minor modifications) is amended as follows.
(2) In subsection (6)—
(a)for “the Secretary of State or the Scottish Ministers” substitute “the national authority”;
(b)for “the Secretary of State or, as the case may be, the Scottish Ministers” substitute “the national authority”.
(3) After subsection (6) insert—
“(6A) Except where subsection (6B) or (7) applies, the Secretary of State is the national authority for the purposes of subsection (6).
(6B) The Welsh Ministers are the national authority for the purposes of subsection (6) where the only closures to which the order relates consist in—
(a)the discontinuance of one or more Wales-only services; or
(b)the discontinuance of a station, or part of a station, that—
(i)is wholly in Wales, and
(ii)is a station to which subsection (6C) applies or part of such a station.
(6C) This subsection applies to a station at which the only scheduled calls made by any railway passenger service are those made by a railway passenger service provided under a Welsh franchise agreement or secured to any extent by the Welsh Ministers.”
(4) In subsection (7)—
(a)for “It is the Scottish Ministers who may make an order under subsection (6)” substitute “The Scottish Ministers are the national authority for the purposes of subsection (6)”;
(b)omit the words after paragraph (e).