Railways Act 2005 Explanatory Notes

Railways Act 2005

2005 CHAPTER 14

Commentary on Sections and Schedules

Part 4: Network Modifications etc.

Supplemental provisions of Part

Section 42: Closures guidance

150. This section sets out the duties of the Secretary of State, the Scottish Ministers and the NAW in publishing guidance on assessing closure proposals referred to in sections 22 to 31. Neither this nor any other section of the Act sets out what will be in the guidance, but it is likely to include criteria that are likely to cover economic, financial, environmental and social factors based on those used by the Department for Transport for appraisals in other transport modes.

151. The section allows for the guidance to include different provisions for different purposes and for different types of closure proposal. This means that the guidance and criteria could be different for, say, operator initiated proposals and RFA initiated ones, as well as smaller and larger proposals.