Railways Act 1993

126 General duties and powers of the Board

(1) In section 3 of the [1962 c. 46.] Transport Act 1962, at the beginning of subsection (1) (duty of the Board to provide railway services in Great Britain) there shall be inserted the words “Subject to subsection (1A) of this section,” and after that subsection there shall be inserted—

“(1A) The Board shall be discharged from the duty imposed by subsection (1) of this section with respect to the provision of railway services in Great Britain if and to the extent that such services are, or have at any time since the coming into force of this subsection been,—

(a) provided by the Board, or a subsidiary of the Board, pursuant to any agreements or arrangements falling within subsection (1B) of this section; or

(b) provided (whether under or by virtue of the Railways Act 1993 or otherwise) by persons other than the Board and their subsidiaries;

but, notwithstanding anything in this subsection, it shall be the duty of the Board to have, as respects any railway services provided as mentioned in paragraph (a) of this subsection (and any other services or facilities provided in connection therewith) due regard to efficiency, economy and safety of operation.

(1B) The agreements or arrangements mentioned in subsection (1A)(a) of this section are as follows, namely—

(a) an agreement or arrangement made pursuant to the Railways Act 1993, to which the Franchising Director and the Board, or a subsidiary of the Board, are parties;

(b) an agreement made between—

(i) the Board or a subsidiary of the Board, and

(ii) a person who is the owner or operator of a railway asset or track,

being an agreement under which the Board or a subsidiary of the Board operates that railway asset or track or uses it to provide network, station or light maintenance services.

(1C) For the purposes of subsection (1B) above and this subsection—

(a) any reference to a railway asset includes a reference to any part of a railway asset;

(b) “operator”, in relation to a railway asset or track, means the person having the management of that railway asset or track for the time being;

(c) “owner”, in relation to a railway asset or track, means any person—

(i) who has an estate or interest in, or right over, the railway asset or track in question; and

(ii) whose permission to use that railway asset or track is needed by another before that other may use it;

and, subject to that, expressions used in either subsection and in Part I of the Railways Act 1993 have the same meaning in that subsection as they have in that Part.”

(2) At the end of that section there shall be added—

“(5) Subject to subsection (6) of this section, section 82 of the Railways Act 1993 (meaning of “railway services”) shall apply for the purposes of this section as it applies for the purposes of Part I of that Act.

(6) If it appears to the Secretary of State that the Board—

(a) have ceased to provide railway services of a description falling within any paragraph (“the relevant paragraph”) of subsection (1) of that section, or

(b) have ceased to provide such services otherwise than as mentioned in subsection (1A)(a) of this section,

he shall by order provide that, as from the date on which the order comes into force, subsection (1) of that section shall, in its application for the purposes of this section, have effect as if the relevant paragraph (which shall be specified in the order) were omitted therefrom.

(7) An order under subsection (6) of this section may make such consequential amendments or repeals of or in this section or any other enactment as may appear to the Secretary of State to be necessary or expedient for the purposes of, or in connection with, the order.

(8) The power to make an order under subsection (6) of this section shall be exercisable by statutory instrument; and a statutory instrument containing any such order shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.”