Railways Act 2005

The Railways Act 2005^[1]
Dates
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act to amend the law relating to the provision and regulation of railway services; and for connected purposes.
Citation	2005 c 14
Territorial extent	England and Wales and, except for sections 13 and 39 and 52, Scotland^[2]
Royal Assent	7 April 2005
Text of statute as originally enacted
Revised text of statute as amended

The Railways Act 2005 (c 14) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning the regulatory structure for railways in the United Kingdom.

Overview

The bill was introduced and published on 25 November 2004 and received Royal Assent on 7 April 2005. The act implemented the institutional changes published in the Department for Transport's White Paper on rail of 15 July 2004, principally:

Abolished the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA), transferring some of its functions to the Secretary of State, some (consumer protection ones) to the Office of Rail Regulation, and some to the devolved administrations.
Reduced the financial jurisdiction of the Office of Rail Regulation, imposing a Treasury-determined cap on its financial powers and requiring the Secretary of State for Transport to specify what he wants in return for the public subsidy which goes into the railway industry.
Established Passenger Focus as a single national consumer representation body, replacing the geographically separated Rail Passengers Council.
Set up a new regime for the closure of railway facilities and services.

Government defeat

During the final Parliamentary stages of the passage of the Railways Act 2005, the Government sustained a defeat in the House of Lords over an amendment which would have protected passenger and train operators against a diminution of infrastructure quality or performance - or being held rigidly to their contracts for the provision of railway services which assumed no such diminution - if the Secretary of State for Transport restricted funds available to Network Rail. However, the amendment was reversed the same day in the House of Commons with a much weaker provision substituted for it. The House of Lords did not insist on their original amendment, and the legislation was passed without the protections which the train operators needed. Critics regarded this as an unjustified interference in an inter-dependent contractual matrix, contrary to the legitimate expectations of private investors in the railway.

Section 60 - Short title, commencement and extent

The following orders have been made under this section:

The Railways Act 2005 (Commencement No. 1) Order 2005 (S.I. 2005/1444 (C. 64))
The Railways Act 2005 (Commencement No. 2) Order 2005 (S.I. 2005/1909 (C. 82))
The Railways Act 2005 (Commencement No. 3) Order 2005 (S.I. 2005/2252 (C. 94))
The Railways Act 2005 (Commencement No. 4) Order 2005 (S.I. 2005/2812 (C. 117))
The Railways Act 2005 (Commencement No. 5) Order 2006 (S.I. 2006/266 (C. 7))
The Railways Act 2005 (Commencement No. 6) Order 2006 (S.I. 2006/1951 (C. 65))
The Railways Act 2005 (Commencement No. 7, Transitional and Saving Provisions) Order 2006 (S.I. 2006/2911 (C. 102))
The Railways Act 2005 (Commencement No. 8) Order 2007 (S.I. 2007/62 (C. 2))
The Railways Act 2005 (Commencement No. 9) Order 2007 (S.I. 2007/1993 (C. 74))

References

Halsbury's Statutes,

↑ The citation of this Act by this short title is authorised by section 60(1) of this Act.
↑ The Railways Act 2005, sections 60(5) and (6)

External links

The Railways Act 2005, as amended from the National Archives.
The Railways Act 2005, as originally enacted from the National Archives.
Explanatory notes to the Railways Act 2005.
Summary of key points

United Kingdom legislation

Pre-Parliamentary legislation	List of English statutes Charter of Liberties Magna Carta

Acts of Parliament by states preceding the Kingdom of Great Britain	Acts of the Parliament of England to 1483 1485–1601 1603–1641 Interregnum (1642–1660) 1660–1699 1700–1706 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland Acts of the Parliament of Ireland to 1700 1701–1800

Acts of Parliament of the Kingdom of Great Britain	1707–1719 1720–1739 1740–1759 1760–1779 1780–1800

Acts of Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland	1801–1819 1820–1839 1840–1859 1860–1879 1880–1899 1900–1919 1920–1939 1940–1959 1960–1979 1980–1999 2000 to date Halsbury's Statutes UK Statute Law Database Short titles

Church of England measures	List Church of England Assembly (Powers) Act 1919

Legislation of devolved institutions	Acts of the Scottish Parliament Acts and Measures of the National Assembly for Wales Acts of the Northern Ireland Assembly Acts of the Parliament of Northern Ireland Orders in Council for Northern Ireland

Orders-in-Council	Order in Council

Secondary legislation	United Kingdom Statutory Instruments Scottish Statutory Instruments Act of Sederunt, Act of Adjournal

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