The Railways Regulations 1992

Access and transit rights

8.—(1) Any international grouping may apply to any infrastructure manager—

(a) in the case of a grouping which includes a railway undertaking established in the United Kingdom for such access and transit rights; or

(b) in the case of any other grouping, for such transit rights,

as may be necessary for the provision of international services between the member States where the undertakings constituting the grouping are established.

(2) Any railway undertaking established or to be established in a member State other than the United Kingdom may apply to any infrastructure manager for the grant of such access and transit rights as may be necessary for the purpose of the operation of international combined transport goods services.

(3) On an application under paragraph (1) or (2) the infrastructure manager shall, subject to paragraph (4), grant the rights applied for unless it would prevent the operation of services already provided by the infrastructure manager or for which access or transit rights have already been granted by the infrastructure manager to any international grouping or railway undertaking either before or after the date of coming into force of these Regulations.

(4) The infrastructure manager shall grant the access or transit rights by the conclusion of an agreement with the international grouping or railway undertaking covering the necessary administrative, technical and financial matters to regulate traffic control and safety issues concerning the international services to be provided by them.

(5) The terms and conditions of agreements concluded pursuant to paragraph (4) shall not be discriminatory between railway undertakings or between railway undertakings and the infrastructure manager as a provider of rail transport services.

(6) It shall be the duty of any infrastructure manager which grants access or transit rights to take such steps as are necessary to secure the inclusion in the agreement by which such rights are granted of such conditions to be complied with by the international grouping or railway undertaking to which the rights are granted, and to secure such modifications of those conditions from time to time, as are necessary to ensure the protection of people from the dangers arising from the operation of railways.

(7) The international grouping or railway undertaking to which access or transit rights are granted shall comply with the conditions included in the agreement by which such rights are granted in accordance with paragraph (6).

(8) Before access or transit rights are granted the applicant international grouping or railway undertaking shall lodge with the infrastructure manager a document indicating how it would ensure that the conditions to be included in the agreement in accordance with paragraph (6) will be complied with (hereinafter referred to as “the railway safety case”) and the infrastructure manager shall send a copy of the railway safety case to the Health and Safety Executive not less than 28 days (or such lesser number of days as the Executive may agree) before the grant of the access or transit rights.

(9) The infrastructure manager shall not grant the access or transit rights applied for until it has agreed the railway safety case with the international grouping or railway undertaking and unless it is satisfied that the railway safety case so agreed at that time when implemented will ensure that the conditions to be included in the agreement in accordance with paragraph (6) are complied with by the international grouping or railway undertaking.

(10) The infrastructure manager and the international grouping or railway undertaking to which the rights are granted shall take such steps as are necessary to secure that the railway safety case so agreed is from time to time modified to take account of any modification of the conditions referred to in paragraph (6) or as may appear from time to time necessary to ensure that those conditions are complied with by the international grouping or railway undertaking.

(11) A failure on the part of the railway undertaking or international grouping to fulfil any provision of the railway safety case, as it may have been agreed from time to time, may in any civil or criminal proceedings be relied upon by any party to the proceedings as tending to establish or negative any liability which is in question in those proceedings.

(12) Any infrastructure manager which grants access or transit rights under this regulation shall so operate its control and safety systems as to take account of the services operated in exercise of such rights.