Scotland Act 1998

Reservation

The provision and regulation of railway services is a reserved matter. This includes rail safety.  The interpretation provision at the end of the Section provides that railway services are those defined in section 82 of the Railways Act 1993 but excluding the wider meaning of railway given by section 81(2) of that Act.  This means that railway services for the purposes of the reservation include services in relation to the carriage of passengers (including luggage, parcels and mail) and of goods and services in relation to stations, maintenance facilities and the provision and operation of the rail network itself.  As the wider meaning of “railway” does not apply (“railway” having the meaning given by section 67(1) of the Transport and Works Act 1992), tramways and guided transport systems are not included, therefore the Scottish Parliament has legislative competence in regard to those matters.

The following are also reserved:

(a)

rail transport security;

(b)

the subject-matter of the Channel Tunnel Act 1987; and

(c)

the subject-matter of the Railway Heritage Act 1996 which provides powers to make a railway heritage scheme.