The Weighing Equipment (Automatic Rail-weighbridges) Regulations 2003

PART I E+W+S GENERAL

Citation, commencement and consequential amendment E+W+S

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Weighing Equipment (Automatic Rail-weighbridges) Regulations 2003 and shall come into force on 1st February 2004.

(2) After sub-paragraph (k) of regulation 1(2) of the Weights and Measures Regulations 1963 M1 , there shall be added the following sub-paragraph—

“(1) automatic rail-weighbridges to which the Weighing Equipment (Automatic Rail-weighbridges) Regulations 2003 M2 apply.”.

Marginal Citations

M1 S.I. 1963/1710; there are other amendments not relevant to these Regulations.

M2 S.I. 2003/2454.

Interpretation E+W+S

2.—(1) In these Regulations—

“the 1985 Act” means the Weights and Measures Act 1985;

“accuracy class” means the accuracy class, in respect of an automatic rail-weighbridge, determined by the Secretary of State and specified in the certificate of approval, being one of the accuracy classes 0.2, 0.5, 1 or, for the purposes of weighing waste (as defined in Schedule 3) only, 2: provided always that, except when used for the purposes of weighing waste, the accuracy class in respect of that automatic rail-weighbridge may be different for wagon weighing to that for train weighing;

“automatic rail-weighbridge” means an instrument which—

(i)

is used to determine the mass of a railway wagon when it is weighed in motion by using the action of gravity without the intervention of an operator;

(ii)

follows a predetermined programme of automatic processes characteristic of the instrument; and

(iii)

has one or more load receptors inclusive of rails for conveying railway vehicles and includes such of the other components described in Schedule 1 as are specified in the certificate of approval;

“certificate of approval” means a certificate of approval of a pattern of an automatic rail-weighbridge granted or renewed by the Secretary of State under section 12 of the 1985 Act;

“control instrument” means a non-automatic weighing instrument used to determine the mass of a reference wagon;

“initial verification testing” means testing in accordance with the provisions of regulation 6(c);

“instrument” has the same meaning as that for automatic rail-weighbridge;

“load receptor” means the part of the weigh zone that is intended to receive the load and which realises a change in the balance of the automatic rail-weighbridge when a load is placed upon it; and “multiple load receptors” means two or more load receptors placed in series or in parallel that are used as a single load receptor for weighing a wagon that is entirely supported on the load receptors;

“maximum capacity” means the largest load which the automatic rail-weighbridge is designed to weigh-in-motion before totalising;

“maximum wagon weight” means the largest in-motion load which the automatic rail-weighbridge is approved to weigh for a particular site;

“minimum capacity” means the load below which a weighing-in-motion result before totalising may be subject to an excessive relative error;

“minimum wagon weight” means the wagon weight (when the wagon is unloaded) below which a weighing-in-motion result may be subject to an excessive relative error;

“OIML R 106” means the International Recommendation OIML R 106 of the Organisation Internationale de Métrologie Légale relating to automatic rail-weighbridges (Edition 1997 (E));

“prescribed limits of error” has the meaning set out in regulation 9(3);

“reference wagon” means a railway goods vehicle that is recognised by the automatic rail-weighbridge as a vehicle to be weighed being—

(a)

of known weight;

(b)

typical of those to be used for weighing on the automatic rail-weighbridge;

and which has been selected for the purposes of in-motion testing;

“scale interval” or “d” means a value expressed in units of mass for weighing-in-motion that is the difference between—

(a)

the values corresponding to two consecutive scale marks for analogue indication; or

(b)

two consecutive indicated or printed values for digital indication;

“scale interval for stationary load” means the scale interval used for static tests;

“the stamp” or “verification mark” means the prescribed stamp M3 ;

“total train” means a number of coupled wagons whose totalised weight is to be obtained;

“wagon” means a loaded or unloaded railway goods vehicle that is recognised by the automatic rail-weighbridge as a vehicle to be weighed;

“weighing-in-motion” means weighing objects that are in motion; and

“weigh zone” means the zone in which a wagon must be located when it is to be weighed.

(2) Any expression or procedure which is not defined in these Regulations and is used both in these Regulations and OIML R 106 shall bear the same meaning as in OIML R 106.

Marginal Citations

M3 See S.I. 1968/1615, amended by S.I. 1999/504.

Application E+W+S

3.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2) and regulation 4, these Regulations apply to automatic rail-weighbridges and such instruments are hereby prescribed for the purposes of section 11(1) of the 1985 Act (use for trade of weighing or measuring equipment of prescribed classes).

(2) These Regulations do not apply to any automatic rail-weighbridge which has been put into use for trade before these Regulations came into force.

Transitional exclusion E+W+S

4.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), these Regulations do not apply to an automatic rail-weighbridge—

(a) which comprises an automatic weighing machine for the purposes of the Weights and Measures Regulations 1963; and

(b) which has been first passed as fit for use for trade, for the purposes of those Regulations, within a period of 10 years from the date on which these Regulations came into force.

(2) The exception provided in paragraph (1) does not apply in the case of an automatic rail-weighbridge which bears the marking “R 106”.