The Railways Infrastructure (Access, Management and Licensing of Railway Undertakings) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016

Network Statement N.I.

13.—(1) The infrastructure manager must, following consultation with all interested parties, develop and publish a network statement containing the information described in paragraph (4).

(2) Where, by virtue of regulations 14(6) or 19(3) a charging body or, as the case may be, allocation body is responsible for the functions of the infrastructure manager in Parts 4 or 5, that charging body or allocation body must provide the infrastructure manager with such information as is necessary to enable that infrastructure manager to—

(a) include the information described in paragraph (4) in the network statement; and

(b) keep the network statement up to date in accordance with paragraph (7).

(3) A service provider who is not the infrastructure manager must provide the infrastructure manager of the infrastructure to which the relevant service facility is connected, with such information as is necessary to enable that infrastructure manager to—

(a) include the information described in paragraph (4)(b) and, where applicable, (d) in the network statement; and

(b) keep the network statement up to date in accordance with paragraph (7).

(4) The information referred to in paragraph (1) is—

(a) a section setting out the nature of the railway infrastructure which is available to applicants and the conditions of access to it;

(b) details as to where further information may be obtained about the nature of the track access to, and supply of services in, any of the service facilities to which access may be obtained pursuant to regulation 5;

(c) a description of the charging principles and tariffs, including appropriate details of the charging scheme, framework, methodology, rules and, where applicable, scales used in relation to the application of regulations 14, 16 and 18 and Schedule 2;

(d) information on charges for gaining access to and supply of service facilities listed in Schedule 1, including those which are provided by only one supplier, and including information on technical access conditions, or details of a website where such information is available free of charge in electronic format;

(e) the list of market segments to be published under paragraph 2(7) of Schedule 2, subject to any amendments made by the Office of Rail and Road;

(f) information relating to the performance scheme referred to in regulation 16;

(g) details for the supply of those services listed in Schedule 1 which are provided by only one supplier;

(h) a description of the principles and criteria for the allocation of infrastructure capacity, setting out the general capacity characteristics of the infrastructure available and any restrictions on its use, including likely capacity requirements for maintenance;

(i) information about procedures for dispute resolution and appeal relating to matters of access to rail infrastructure and services.

(j) the procedures and deadlines in the capacity allocation process and specific criteria employed in that process, in particular—

(i) the procedures according to which applicants may request infrastructure capacity from the infrastructure manager;

(ii) the information to be provided by applicants;

(iii) the timetable for the application and allocation process;

(iv) the principles governing the co-ordination process, in particular the arrangement of international train paths, and the effect the modification of such paths might have on other infrastructure managers;

(v) the dispute resolution procedure established in accordance with regulation 23(7);

(vi) details of any section of railway infrastructure which has been designated for use by specified types of rail services in accordance with regulation 25;

(vii) the procedures to be followed and criteria used where infrastructure is congested infrastructure, including any priority criteria for the allocation of congested infrastructure set in accordance with regulation 26(5) and (6);

(viii) the findings of any capacity enhancement plan completed in accordance with regulation 28;

(ix) details of restrictions on the use of infrastructure;

(x) the threshold quota to be applied by the infrastructure manager in requiring a train path to be surrendered under regulation 29(1); and

(xi) the conditions relating to previous levels of utilisation of capacity to be taken into account by the infrastructure manager in determining priorities in accordance with regulation 29(3);

(k) details of any section of railway infrastructure which has been designated for use by specified types of rail services in accordance with regulation 25;

(l) the measures taken by the infrastructure manager to ensure fair treatment of rail freight services and international services, and in responding to ad hoc requests for infrastructure capacity.

(m) a template form for requests for capacity and detailed information about the allocation procedures for international train paths;

(n) information related to applications for–

(i) a licence, as published under regulation 10(1) of the Train Driving Licences and Certificates Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010 M1 ; and

(ii) a rail safety certificate issued in accordance with regulation 5 of the Railways (Safety Management) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006 M2 .

or, as an alternative to the information described in (i) and (ii) above, a reference to a website where such information is made available free of charge in electronic format.

(o) a model agreement for the conclusion of a framework agreement between an infrastructure manager and an applicant in accordance with regulation 21; and

(p) the criteria to determine failure to use capacity published under regulation 18(3)(a).

(5) The information provided under paragraph (4)(a) must be made consistent, on an annual basis with, or must refer to, the rail infrastructure registers to be published in accordance with [F1 regulation 35 of the Railways (Interoperability) Regulations 2011].

(6) The information provided under paragraph (4)(c) and (d) must include–

(a) information on changes to charges referred to in that paragraph already decided upon or foreseen in the next five years, if available; and

(b) information on charges as well as other relevant information on access applying to services listed in Schedule 1 which are provided only by one supplier.

(7) The infrastructure manager must keep the network statement up to date and modify it as necessary.

(8) The infrastructure manager must publish the network statement in at least two official languages of the European Union.

(9) The infrastructure manager must publish the network statement not less than four months before the deadline for applications for infrastructure capacity as described under paragraph 2(1) of Schedule 3.

(10) Any fee charged by the infrastructure manager for the provision, on request, of a copy of the network statement must not exceed the cost of producing that copy.

(11) The content of the network statement must be made available free of charge in electronic format on the web portal of the infrastructure manager and must be accessible through a common web portal.

(12) The common web portal referred to in paragraph (11) must be set up by the infrastructure manager in the framework of its cooperation with infrastructure managers from [F2 the Republic of Ireland], in accordance with regulations 17 and 20.

(13) If the information required under paragraphs (2) or (3) is not provided to the satisfaction of the infrastructure manager, the infrastructure manager may refer the matter to the Office of Rail and Road for a determination as to whether additional information must be supplied.

(14) Where a matter is referred to the Office of Rail and Road in accordance with paragraph (13), it is the duty of the Office of Rail and Road to make the determination within such period as is reasonable in all the circumstances, and any such determination shall be binding on all parties.

Textual Amendments

F1 Words in reg. 13(5) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Railways (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2019 (S.I. 2019/826), regs. 1(2), 11(2); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F2 Words in reg. 13(12) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Railways (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2019 (S.I. 2019/826), regs. 1(2), 11(3); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

Marginal Citations

M1 S.R. 2010 No. 132

M2 S.R. 2006 No. 237