Railways Act 2005

Railways Act 2005

2005 CHAPTER 14

Commentary on Sections and Schedules

Part 3: Rail Passengers' Council and Rail Passengers' Committees

Section 21: Rail Passengers' Committee

105. This section abolishes regional Rail Passengers’ Committees. There is currently a federal relationship between the Council and the Committees, under which every chairman of a regional Committee is automatically a member of the Council. The RPC will continue to operate as a national body, but there will no longer be a federation of statutory regional committees (although it will be possible for the Secretary of State to direct that the Council should establish committees in relation to particular localities under Schedule 5 Paragraph 18, and the Council will be able to delegate certain of its functions under section 20). Section 21(3) introduces Schedule 6, which provides that the London Transport Users’ Committee (which was treated as the Rail Passengers’ Committee for the Greater London area by virtue of section 2 of the 1993 Act) will continue to have the functions that it has had as a Rail Passengers’ Committee. The LTUC is established under section 247 of the Greater London Authority Act 1999. Responsibility for this body lies with the London Assembly.