Examination of Witnesses (Questions 220-221)
MR ANSON
JACK
10 NOVEMBER 2004
Q220 Chairman: It is the line of responsibility
I am trying to sort out. It is decided to have a community railway.
You then set in effect an umbrella over the set-up but you do
not decide the precise terms of anything like a derogation; that
is done by a subject committee?
Mr Jack: Yes. We would be effectively
the technical advisers, the administrators of the process. We
own the standards that are published and mandated for the industry
but the decision-making process for a standard change is one that
involves a collective industry decision.
Q221 Chairman: Because of your own personal
experience of the industry and the experience of the people who
are fulfilling that role, you would not automatically expect that
to mean that a rural railway line would have to comply with the
very high standards of a high speed line because the situation
is totally different and they would be required to operate within
those parameters. Is that correct?
Mr Jack: That is correct, but
it is worth saying that they do not have to comply with those
same standards today.
Chairman: No, and I think that point
is very important and it should not be missed. You have been very
helpful, Mr Jack. Thank you very much indeed.
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