The Railways Infrastructure (Access and Management) (Amendment) Regulations 2009

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations implement the provisions of European Parliament and Council Directive 2007/58/EC (OJ No. L315, 3.12.07, p44) of 23^rd October 2007 amending Council Directive 91/440/EC on the development of the Community’s railways and Directive 2001/14/EC on the allocation of railway infrastructure capacity and the levying of charges for the use of railway infrastructure. In addition, they amend regulations 13 and 28 of the Railways Infrastructure (Access and Management) Regulations 2005 (SI 2005/3049) (“the 2005 Regulations”) (regulation 2(5) and (8)). These Regulations do not apply to Northern Ireland.

These Regulations amend the provisions of the 2005 Regulations to liberalise international passenger services. They also amend the requirements for framework agreements and transfer some regulatory responsibilities in relation to rail link facilities from the Secretary of State to the Office of Rail Regulation.

Regulation 2(3) substitutes new provisions on access rights which relate to international groupings, extending the provisions to international passenger services and adding the right to pick up passengers at any station and set them down at another, including within the same Member State. The Office of Rail Regulation has been given authority to limit access rights for international passenger services in certain circumstances.

Regulation 2(2), (4), (12), (13) and (14) removes references to “international groupings” from the 2005 Regulations enabling the Regulations to cover any international passenger service.

Regulation 2(6) places a requirement on an applicant wanting to operate an international passenger service to give notice to the infrastructure manager and the Office of Rail Regulation in relation to that application. The Office of Rail Regulation must provide a copy of this information to certain specified parties.

Regulation 2(7) sets new durations for framework agreements and specifies the conditions that must be met to allow their extension beyond a period of five years. Framework agreements for the rail link facility, and amendments to such agreements, must have the prior approval of the Office of Rail Regulation.

Regulation 2(5) and (8) transfers the regulatory functions of the Secretary of State for rail link facilities under regulations 13(3) and 28 of the 2005 Regulations to the Office of Rail Regulation.

Regulation 2(9) confers on the Office of Rail Regulation the responsibility of deciding whether a service for the transport of passengers by train is an international passenger service and of deciding, on the request of certain parties, or on its own initiative, whether such a service would compromise the economic equilibrium of a relevant public service contract. In making a decision the Office of Rail Regulation may issue a direction to limit access rights. It also provides that specified parties may request it to reconsider a decision or direction. The Office of Rail Regulation is to publish the criteria it applies. The regulation also permits any person to make an application to the Court to appeal a decision.

Regulation 2(10)(a) extends the scope of regulation 31 (provision of information to the regulatory body) of the 2005 Regulations so that the regulation also applies if the Office of Rail Regulation requests information in connection with its functions under regulations 13 (infrastructure costs and accounts) and 29A (regulatory decisions concerning international passenger services). Regulation 2(10)(b) inserts references to Directive 2007/58/EC into regulation 31.

Regulation 2(11) and (12) removes references to “transit rights”.

Regulation 2(14) makes a breach of an obligation to comply with a decision or direction of the Office of Rail Regulation under regulation 29A of the 2005 Regulations (as inserted by regulation 2(9) of these Regulations) actionable by persons sustaining loss, damage or injury caused by that breach, and makes such an obligation enforceable by the Office of Rail Regulation by way of civil proceedings.

Regulation 2(15) corrects a linguistic error in the 2005 Regulations where the English text of Article 8.2 of Directive 2001/14/EC differs from that of the French and German texts. It also corrects transpositional errors made in the 2005 Regulations in relation to discounts.

Regulation 3 makes consequential amendments to provisions of the Railways Act 1993 (c. 43) and the Greater London Authority Act 1999 (c. 29), which impose restrictions on the disclosure of information, to include references to Directive 2007/58/EC.

A full Impact Assessment of the effect this instrument will have on costs for business and voluntary sectors has been produced and is available from the Rail Network Strategy Division, Department for Transport, Great Minister House, 76 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DR.

A copy of the Transposition Note is also available from the Department for Transport.

Copies of the Impact Assessment and of the Transposition Note may also be accessed on the Office of Public Sector Information website www.opsi.gov.uk.