Railways Act 1993

6 Prohibition on unauthorised operators of railway assets. E+W+S

(1) Any person who acts as the operator of a railway asset is guilty of an offence unless—

(a) he is authorised to be the operator of that railway asset by a licence; or

(b) he is exempt, by virtue of section 7 below, from the requirement to be so authorised.

[F1 (1A) This section does not apply to a person who acts as the operator of a railway asset to the extent that the asset is operated for the purpose of providing [F2 services for which a European licence is required]]

(2) In this Part—

• [F3 “European licence” means a licence granted pursuant to—

  (a)

  a provision contained in any instrument made for the purpose of implementing—

  (i)

  Council Directive 1995/18/EC dated 19th June 1995 on the licensing of railway undertakings, or

  (ii)

  Chapter III of Directive 2012/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21st November 2012 establishing a single European railway area (recast), or

  (b)

  any action taken by an EEA State for that purpose;]

• F4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• “operator”, in relation to any railway asset, means the person having the management of that railway asset for the time being;

• “railway asset” means—

  (a)

  any train being used on a network, whether for the purpose of carrying passengers or goods by railway or for any other purpose whatsoever;

  (b)

  any network;

  (c)

  any station; or

  (d)

  any light maintenance depot.

[F5 (2A) In subsection (2) above, “EEA State” means a member State, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein.]

(3) Any person who is guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum;

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine.

(4) No proceedings shall be instituted in England and Wales in respect of an offence under this section except by or on behalf of the Secretary of State or [F6 the Office of Rail and Road] .

Textual Amendments

F1 S. 6(1A) inserted (27.6.1998) by S.I. 1998/1340, reg. 21(2)

F2 Words in s. 6(1A) substituted (28.11.2005) by The Railway (Licensing of Railway Undertakings) Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005/3050), reg. 3, Sch. 1 para. 3(2)

F3 Words in s. 6(2) substituted (29.7.2016) by The Railways (Access, Management and Licensing of Railway Undertakings) Regulations 2016 (S.I. 2016/645), reg. 1(1), Sch. 1 para. 3(2) (with reg. 4)

F4 S. 6(2): definition of "international services" omitted (28.11.2005) by virtue of The Railway (Licensing of Railway Undertakings) Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005/3050), reg. 3, Sch. 1 para. 3(3)(b)

F5 S. 6(2A) substituted (28.11.2005) by The Railway (Licensing of Railway Undertakings) Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005/3050), reg. 3, Sch. 1 para. 3(4)

F6 Words in s. 6(4) substituted (16.10.2015) by The Office of Rail Regulation (Change of Name) Regulations 2015 (S.I. 2015/1682), reg. 1(2), Sch. para. 1(b)

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 S. 6(1) excluded (18.12.1996) by 1996 c. 61, s. 16(1)

C2 S. 6(1) excluded (22.7.2008) by Crossrail Act 2008 (c. 18), s. 24

C3 S. 6(1) excluded (23.2.2017) by High Speed Rail (London - West Midlands) Act 2017 (c. 7), ss. 40, 70(1)

Commencement Information

I1 S. 6 wholly in force at 1.4.1994; s. 6 not in force at Royal Assent see s. 154(2); s. 6(2) in force at 6.1.1994 by S.I. 1993/3237, art. 2(2), s. 6 in force at 1.4.1994 insofar as not already in force by S.I. 1994/571, art. 5