The Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003 (the "Act") received royal assent on Thursday July 10. Most of its provisions are to come into force in accordance with orders to be issued by the Secretary of State for Transport - none have yet been issued.
The Act provides for the appointment by the Secretary of State for Transport of a Rail Accident Investigation Branch, consisting of a Chief Inspector of Rail Accidents and a number of inspectors, whose functions will be to investigate railways accidents, with the aim of improving the safety of railways and preventing railway accidents and railway incidents. Investigations carried out by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch are separate to any civil or criminal proceedings that might also take place - the purpose of the investigation is not to consider or determine blame or liability, but it may determine and report on the cause of an accident or incident.
The Rail Accident Investigation Branch will be required to investigate all serious railways accidents, and any non-serious railway accident incident if required to do so by the Secretary of State, and may otherwise investigate non-serious railways accidents or railway incidents. These categories of incidents/accidents are to be defined in regulations to be issued by the Secretary of State.
Inspectors of Rail Incidents will have wide-ranging powers, including to enter railway property and land, to remove and retain samples, to require access to records, to require persons to answer questions/provide information, and to require that the truth, accuracy or authenticity of a statement made, information or document provided or record disclosed be certified. The Act sets out a number of criminal offences relating to investigations by Inspectors of Rail Accidents, including failure to comply with their requirements, making false statements and obstructing an inspector in the course of the conduct of an investigation. The detail of how the Rail Accident Investigation Branch will operate is to be set out in regulations to be published by the Secretary of State.
The Act will abolish the Rail Regulator. The functions previously carried out by him are to be carried out by the Office of Rail Regulation, in line with the comments of the Better Regulation Task Force in its report on Economic Regulators. The Act sets out the basis on which the Office of Rail Regulation is to be appointed (consisting of a chairman and at least four other members), but does not change the functions which it will inherit from the Rail Regulator. The Act also confirms the funding position for the Office of the Rail Regulator - by the Treasury, and from its income, with it being prohibited from borrowing.
The Act will also set up an authority responsible for policing the railways, the British Transport Police Authority, and sets out detailed provisions in relation to the Authority, and the railways police generally. This will replace the current arrangements under which the British Transport Police force operates - though police services agreements will continue to be used.
The Act also contains provisions relating to alcohol and drugs offences in the shipping and aviation sectors, and a number of miscellaneous provisions, including for the levying of a railways safety levy from persons providing railway services (to come into force in September - the detail of which is to be set out in regulations to be issued by the Secretary of State).
Finally, the Act paved the way for the transfer of London Underground Limited from London Regional Transport to Transport for London, which took place on July 15.
For further information on this, please contact Bill Carr at bill.carr@cms-cmck.com or on +44 (0)20 7367 2002, or in relation to safety matters, Mark Tyler at mark.tyler@cms-cmck.com or on +44 (0)20 7367 2568.
