The Railway Safety Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007

Use of a train protection system

3.—(1) Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), a person shall not operate, and an infrastructure controller shall not permit the operation of, a train on a railway unless a train protection system is in service in relation to that train and railway.

(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply until 31^st December 2007 provided that—

(a) a programme for the installation and bringing into service of a train protection system in relation to that train and railway has been approved by the Department and is being implemented; and

(b) each part of the system which has been brought into service under that programme is maintained in service.

(3) Paragraph (1) shall not apply if the train is being operated on a railway in relation to which there is in service equipment, which causes the brakes of the train to apply automatically if the train passes a stop signal without authority.

(4) In any proceedings against a person for an offence for contravening paragraph (1) it shall be a defence for that person to prove that—

(a) at the relevant time the train protection system (or, where paragraph (3) is relied on, the equipment referred to therein) or a relevant part had failed, or had been taken out of service, because of a fault;

(b) in the case where the fault is in equipment on the train, the train had commenced its journey before the discovery of the fault or is being driven without passengers to a place for the purpose of repair;

(c) it was not reasonably practicable to remedy the fault sooner; and

(d) suitable measures had been taken after the discovery of the fault to mitigate the risk of trains colliding or derailing.

(5) In any proceedings against a person for an offence of contravening paragraph (1) in so far as that paragraph relates to having in service in relation to a train on a railway the equipment referred to in the exception in the definition of “train protection system” in regulation 2(1), it shall be a defence for that person to prove that—

(a) at the relevant time the equipment or a relevant part of it had failed, or had been taken out of service, because of a fault;

(b) it was not reasonably practicable to remedy the fault sooner; and

(c) equipment referred to in sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) of that definition was at the relevant time in service in relation to that train and railway.

(6) Where equipment forming part of the train protection system is fitted to a train (or, where regulation 3(3) is relied upon, the equipment referred to therein) and that equipment is defective, the operator of that train shall ensure that any passengers on that train are disembarked at the first suitable station.