Railways Act 1993

129 Bye-laws

(1) An independent railway operator may make bye-laws regulating—

(a) the use and working of, and travel on or by means of, any relevant assets;

(b) the maintenance of order on any relevant assets; and

(c) the conduct of all persons while on any relevant assets.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) above, an independent railway operator may, in particular, make bye-laws—

(a) with respect to tickets issued for entry upon relevant assets or travel by railway and the evasion of payment of fares or other charges;

(b) with respect to interference with, or obstruction of, the working of any railway or any relevant asset or the provision of any railway service;

(c) with respect to the smoking of tobacco in railway carriages and elsewhere and the prevention of nuisance;

(d) with respect to the receipt and delivery of goods; and

(e) for regulating the passage of bicycles and other vehicles on footways and other premises controlled by him and intended for the use of those on foot.

(3) In section 67 of the [1962 c. 46.] Transport Act 1962, after subsection (9) (confirmation of bye-laws by the Minister) there shall be inserted—

“(9A) The Minister may charge the Board such fees in respect of any bylaws submitted for confirmation under this section as he may consider appropriate for the purpose of defraying any administrative expenses incurred by him in connection therewith.”

(4) Subsections (3) and (5) to (12) of section 67 of the [1962 c. 46.] Transport Act 1962 (procedure for making bye-laws) shall apply in relation to bye-laws under this section as they apply in relation to bye-laws under subsection (1) of that section, but with the substitution for any reference to the Board of a reference to the independent railway operator in question.

(5) Subsection (4) of that section shall apply in relation to bye-laws under this section as it applies in relation to bye-laws under subsection (1) of that section, but—

(a) taking the reference to “a Board” as including a reference to an independent railway operator (and construing the reference to “the Board in question” accordingly); and

(b) taking the reference to “their railway” as including, in the case of that independent railway operator, a reference to any relevant asset.

(6) If and to the extent that, immediately before the coming into force of a transfer scheme, any bye-laws—

(a) made by the Board under section 67 of the [1962 c. 46.] Transport Act 1962, or having effect as if so made, or

(b) made by an independent railway operator under this section, or having effect as if so made,

have effect in relation to an undertaking, or part of an undertaking, transferred by the scheme, those bye-laws shall, as from the coming into force of the transfer scheme in relation to that undertaking or, as the case may be, that part of the undertaking, have effect in relation to the undertaking or part (as the case may be) as bye-laws made under this section by the transferee.

(7) In this section “independent railway operator” means any person, other than the Board, who is authorised by a licence to be the operator of a railway asset or of railway assets of a class or description.

(8) The exclusion of the Board from being an independent railway operator is without prejudice to the Board’s subsidiaries and wholly owned subsidiaries.

(9) For the purposes of this section “relevant assets”, in the case of any independent railway operator, means—

(a) any railway assets in relation to which he is the operator; and

(b) any rolling stock not falling within paragraph (a) above of which he has the management for the time being.

(10) Expressions used in this section and in Part I or II above have the same meaning in this section as they have in that Part.

(11) Apart from the amendment made by subsection (3) above, this section is without prejudice to section 84(3) of the [1962 c. 46.] Transport Act 1962.

(12) Any sums received by the Secretary of State under or by virtue of this section shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund.