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A | |
Bill | |
To | |
Make provision about railways, including tramways; to make provision about | |
transport safety; and for connected purposes. | |
Be it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and | |
consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present | |
Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:— | |
Part 1 | |
Investigation of Railway Accidents | |
Introduction | |
1 Meaning of “railway” and “railway property” | |
(1) In this Part— | 5 |
“railway” means a railway or tramway within the meaning given by | |
section 67 of the Transport and Works Act 1992 (c. 42), and | |
“railway property” means anything which falls within the definition of | |
“light maintenance depot”, “network”, “rolling stock”, “station” or | |
“track” in section 83 of the Railways Act 1993 (c. 43), or which falls | 10 |
within the equivalent of any those definitions in relation to a tramway. | |
(2) The Secretary of State may by regulations amend this section. | |
(3) This section is subject to section 13(2). | |
2 Meaning of “railway accident” and “railway incident” | |
(1) In this Part a reference to a railway accident or railway incident is a reference | 15 |
to an accident or incident which occurs on railway property in so far as it is or | |
may be relevant to the operation of the railway. | |
(2) The Secretary of State may by regulations— | |
(a) make provision about what is to be or not to be treated as an accident | |
or incident for the purposes of this Part; | 20 |
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(b) make provision about circumstances in which an accident or incident is | |
to be or not to be treated as being relevant to the operation of a railway | |
for the purposes of this Part; | |
(c) make provision about when an accident is to be treated as serious for | |
the purposes of this Part. | 5 |
(3) Regulations under subsection (2) may, in particular, make provision by | |
reference to the exercise of a discretion by the Chief Inspector of Rail Accidents. | |
(4) Regulations under subsection (2) making provision about what is to be treated | |
as an incident may, in particular, include an event or omission which does not | |
cause damage or loss but which might cause damage or loss in different | 10 |
circumstances. | |
The Rail Accident Investigation Branch | |
3 Establishment | |
(1) The Secretary of State shall appoint persons as inspectors of rail accidents. | |
(2) The Secretary of State shall appoint one of the inspectors as the Chief Inspector | 15 |
of Rail Accidents. | |
(3) The inspectors appointed under this section may be referred to as the Rail | |
Accident Investigation Branch (being a branch of the department of the | |
Secretary of State who appoints them). | |
(4) An inspector of rail accidents shall carry out such of the functions of the Rail | 20 |
Accident Investigation Branch as may be assigned to him by the Chief | |
Inspector of Rail Accidents. | |
4 General aims | |
In exercising their functions the Rail Accident Investigation Branch shall have | |
regard to the desirability of— | 25 |
(a) improving the safety of railways, and | |
(b) preventing railway accidents and railway incidents. | |
5 Assistance to others | |
The Chief Inspector of Rail Accidents may arrange for the Rail Accident | |
Investigation Branch to assist any person; in particular, assistance— | 30 |
(a) may be provided with or without charge; | |
(b) may be provided inside or outside the United Kingdom. | |
Investigation by Branch | |
6 Investigations | |
(1) The Rail Accident Investigation Branch— | 35 |
(a) shall investigate any serious railway accident, | |
(b) may investigate a non-serious railway accident or a railway incident, | |
and | |
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(c) shall investigate a non-serious railway accident or a railway incident if | |
required to do so by or in accordance with regulations made by the | |
Secretary of State. | |
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1)(a) a tramway shall not be treated as a | |
railway (despite section 1(1)). | 5 |
(3) In investigating an accident or incident the Branch shall try to determine what | |
caused it. | |
(4) On completion of an investigation the Branch shall report to the Secretary of | |
State. | |
(5) In performing a function in relation to an accident or incident the Branch— | 10 |
(a) shall not consider or determine blame or liability, but | |
(b) may determine and report on a cause of an accident or incident whether | |
or not blame or liability is likely to be inferred from the determination | |
or report. | |
(6) The Branch may conduct an investigation and report whether or not civil or | 15 |
criminal proceedings are in progress or may be instituted (but this subsection | |
is without prejudice to the operation of the law of contempt of court). | |
(7) The Chief Inspector of Rail Accidents may apply to the High Court or the | |
Crown Court for a declaration that the making of a report in connection with a | |
specified accident or incident will not amount to a contempt of court in relation | 20 |
to civil or criminal proceedings which have been or may be instituted in | |
connection with the accident or incident. | |
(8) The Chief Inspector of Rail Accidents may reopen an investigation if he | |
believes that significant new evidence may be available. | |
7 Investigator’s powers | 25 |
(1) For the purpose of conducting an investigation by virtue of section 6 an | |
inspector of rail accidents may, provided that he produces evidence of his | |
identity if asked to do so— | |
(a) enter railway property; | |
(b) enter land (which may include a dwelling-house) which adjoins or | 30 |
abuts railway property; | |
(c) enter a vehicle or structure which is on railway property or which is on | |
land which could be entered under paragraph (b); | |
(d) enter land which does not fall within paragraph (a), (b) or (c) if— | |
(i) it is used wholly or partly for the purposes of or in connection | 35 |
with anything done on or with railway property, or | |
(ii) the inspector reasonably believes that it may contain evidence | |
relating to an accident or incident; | |
(e) in entering anything under paragraph (a), (b), (c) or (d), be | |
accompanied by one or more persons authorised by the Chief Inspector | 40 |
of Rail Accidents for that purpose (whether generally or specifically); | |
(f) in entering anything under paragraph (a), (b), (c) or (d), make | |
arrangements to have with him equipment or materials. | |
(2) For the purpose of conducting an investigation by virtue of section 6 an | |
inspector of rail accidents may— | 45 |
(a) make a written, electronic, photographic or other record; | |
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(b) remove and retain samples; | |
(c) arrange for anything to be removed and retained for the purpose of | |
analysis or other examination or for the purpose of preserving | |
evidence; | |
(d) require access to a record or to recording equipment; | 5 |
(e) require a person to answer a question; | |
(f) require a person to provide information; | |
(g) require a person to disclose a record; | |
(h) require a person to provide a copy of a record; | |
(i) require disclosure of the result of an examination of a person, body or | 10 |
thing; | |
(j) require a person to certify the truth, accuracy or authenticity of a | |
statement made, of information or a document provided or of a record | |
disclosed. | |
(3) A person commits an offence if without reasonable excuse he— | 15 |
(a) fails to comply with a requirement imposed by an inspector of rail | |
accidents for the purpose of an investigation by virtue of section 6, | |
(b) makes a statement for the purpose of an investigation by virtue of | |
section 6 knowing or suspecting that the statement is inaccurate or | |
misleading, | 20 |
(c) provides information or a record for the purpose of an investigation by | |
virtue of section 6 knowing or suspecting that the information or record | |
is inaccurate or misleading, | |
(d) obstructs an inspector of rail accidents in the course of his conduct of an | |
investigation by virtue of section 6, | 25 |
(e) obstructs a person accompanying an inspector of rail accidents under | |
subsection (1)(e), or | |
(f) obstructs a person exercising a power of an inspector by virtue of | |
regulations under section 8(1)(d). | |
(4) A person who is guilty of an offence under subsection (3) shall be liable on | 30 |
summary conviction to— | |
(a) imprisonment for a term not exceeding 51 weeks, | |
(b) a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, or | |
(c) both. | |
(5) Subsection (6) applies where— | 35 |
(a) the Rail Accident Investigation Branch is conducting an investigation | |
by virtue of section 6 in respect of an accident or incident, and | |
(b) a question arises as to the desirability of action which any other person | |
proposes to take for the purpose of investigating the accident or | |
incident. | 40 |
(6) The question may be determined by— | |
(a) the Chief Inspector of Rail Accidents, or | |
(b) an inspector of rail accidents acting on behalf of the Chief Inspector. | |
8 Regulations | |
(1) The Secretary of State may make regulations about the conduct of | 45 |
investigations by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch; in particular, the | |
regulations may— | |
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(a) confer a function on the Chief Inspector of Rail Accidents or on the | |
Branch; | |
(b) make provision about the way in which a function of the Chief | |
Inspector or the Branch is to be performed; | |
(c) permit or require the Chief Inspector to appoint a person to conduct or | 5 |
participate in an investigation; | |
(d) provide for a power of an inspector to be exercisable by a person | |
conducting or participating in an investigation by virtue of paragraph | |
(c); | |
(e) permit or require the Chief Inspector to request assistance from another | 10 |
person; | |
(f) permit or require another person to assist the Chief Inspector. | |
(2) The regulations may make provision about the preparation, form, content and | |
publication of a report made by the Branch under section 6; in particular, the | |
regulations may— | 15 |
(a) require a report to address the question of what caused an accident or | |
incident; | |
(b) require or permit a report to make, or not to make, a recommendation; | |
(c) require or permit the preparation and publication by the Branch of an | |
interim report; | 20 |
(d) require the Branch to give an opportunity to a person interested in an | |
investigation to comment on a draft report or draft interim report; | |
(e) require the Branch to notify a person of the content of a report or | |
interim report before publication; | |
(f) require the Branch to give a copy of a report or interim report to a | 25 |
person; | |
(g) make provision about the timing of publication. | |
(3) A reference to a report by the Branch in section 6 includes a reference to an | |
interim report permitted or required by virtue of subsection (2) above. | |
(4) The Secretary of State may make regulations about the use, disclosure and | 30 |
destruction of information acquired by the Branch; in particular, the | |
regulations may— | |
(a) prohibit the disclosure of information in specified circumstances; | |
(b) permit the disclosure of information in specified circumstances; | |
(c) require the disclosure of information in specified circumstances; | 35 |
(d) make provision by reference to whether or not a person consents to a | |
disclosure which relates to him. | |
(5) Regulations under this section may— | |
(a) create an offence (but not an offence punishable by imprisonment); | |
(b) confer a discretionary function; | 40 |
(c) confer jurisdiction on a court or tribunal. | |
Investigation by industry | |
9 Requirement to investigate | |
(1) The Chief Inspector of Rail Accidents may direct that any railway accident or | |
railway incident of a specified kind or which occurs in specified circumstances | 45 |
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(1) shall be investigated by each person who manages or controls, or participates | |
in managing or controlling, all or any part of railway property— | |
(a) on which the accident or incident takes place, or | |
(b) which is involved in the accident or incident. | |
(2) A direction— | 5 |
(a) shall specify the manner in which the investigation is to be conducted, | |
and | |
(b) may make provision for a case where more than one person would be | |
required to conduct an investigation, whether by requiring a joint | |
investigation or by requiring or enabling one or more persons to | 10 |
conduct an investigation on behalf of others. | |
(3) A person to whom a direction under subsection (1) applies commits an offence | |
if he fails to comply with it. | |
(4) A person guilty of an offence under subsection (3) shall be liable— | |
(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory | 15 |
maximum, or | |
(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine. | |
(5) The Chief Inspector shall publish a direction issued by him under subsection | |
(1) in a manner which he considers will bring it to the attention of each person | |
who is likely to be required to comply with it. | 20 |
(6) But in proceedings against a person for an offence under subsection (3) of | |
failing to comply with a direction it shall not be necessary to prove that he was | |
aware of the direction. | |
(7) A direction under subsection (1)— | |
(a) may make provision which applies generally or only in specified | 25 |
circumstances, | |
(b) may make different provision for different cases or circumstances, and | |
(c) may be varied or revoked by a further direction. | |
Accident regulations | |
10 Accident regulations | 30 |
(1) The Secretary of State may make regulations in connection with the | |
investigation of railway accidents and railway incidents. | |
(2) The regulations may, in particular— | |
(a) require a person to notify the Rail Accident Investigation Branch of a | |
railway accident or railway incident, and | 35 |
(b) make provision about the timing, form and content of notice given by | |
virtue of paragraph (a). | |
(3) The regulations may, in particular, require a person to take or not to take | |
specified action following an accident or incident— | |
(a) pending the commencement of an investigation, or | 40 |
(b) during the process of an investigation. | |
(4) The regulations may— | |
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(a) create an offence (but not an offence punishable by a term of | |
imprisonment exceeding the maximum term which may be imposed by | |
a magistrates’ court in accordance with section 78 of the Powers of | |
Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 (c. 6)); | |
(b) confer a discretionary function; | 5 |
(c) confer jurisdiction on a court or tribunal. | |
General | |
11 Crown application | |
This Part applies in relation to property irrespective of whether it belongs to or | |
is used for the purposes of the Crown or a Duchy. | 10 |
12 Regulations and orders | |
(1) Regulations and orders under this Part— | |
(a) may make provision which applies generally or only in specified cases | |
or circumstances, | |
(b) may make different provision for different cases or circumstances, and | 15 |
(c) may include transitional, consequential or incidental provision. | |
(2) Regulations and orders under this Part shall be made by statutory instrument. | |
(3) Regulations under this Part shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a | |
resolution of either House of Parliament. | |
13 Extent | 20 |
(1) This Part extends to the whole of the United Kingdom. | |
(2) In the application of this Part in relation to Scotland any reference to a tramway | |
shall be disregarded. | |
(3) In the application of this Part in relation to Northern Ireland the maximum | |
term for the purposes of sections 7(4)(a) and 10(4)(a) shall be 12 months. | 25 |
Part 2 | |
Office of Rail Regulation | |
14 Establishment | |
(1) There shall be a body corporate to be known as the Office of Rail Regulation. | |
(2) Schedule 1 (which makes provision about the Office) shall have effect. | 30 |
15 Transfer of functions | |
(1) The functions of the Rail Regulator are hereby transferred to the Office of Rail | |
Regulation. | |
(2) Subsection (1) applies to a function whether conferred by an enactment, by an | |
agreement or otherwise. | 35 |
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