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RAILWAY EMPLOYMENT (PREVENTION OF ACCIDENTS) ACT 1900

RAILWAY EMPLOYMENT (PREVENTION OF ACCIDENTS) ACT 1900 - LONG TITLE

An Act for the better Prevention of Accidents on Railways.{1}
[30th July 1900]
Power to make rules as to dangerous railway operations.

RAILWAY EMPLOYMENT (PREVENTION OF ACCIDENTS) ACT 1900 - SECT 1

1.(1) The Board of Trade may, subject to the provisions of this
Act, make such rules as they think fit with respect to any of the
subjects mentioned in the schedule to this Act, with the object of
reducing or removing the dangers and risks incidental to railway
service.

(2) Where the Board of Trade consider that avoidable danger to
persons employed on any railway arises from any operation of railway
service (not being a matter in respect to which rules may be made
under the foregoing provisions of the section), whether that danger
arises from anything done or omitted to be done by the railway
company or any of its officers or servants, or from any want of
proper appliances or plant, they may, subject to the provisions of
this Act, after communicating with the railway company, and giving
them a reasonable opportunity of reducing or removing the danger or
risk, make rules for that purpose.

(3) The Board of Trade may, by any rules made under this section,
require amongst other matters the use of any plant or appliance
which has been shown to the satisfaction of the Board of Trade to
be calculated to reduce danger to persons employed on a railway, or
the disuse of any plant or appliance which has been similarly shown
to involve such danger.

(4) The Board of Trade shall, by any rule made by them under this
section, give a reasonable time for carrying out the requirements of
the rule.

RAILWAY EMPLOYMENT (PREVENTION OF ACCIDENTS) ACT 1900 - SECT 2
Publication and consideration of draft rules.

2.(1) When the Board of Trade propose to make any rules under this
Act, the Board shall publish in the [Belfast Gazette], notice of
the proposal to make the rules, and of the place where copies of
the draft rules may be obtained, and of the time, not being less
than one month, within which any objection or suggestion made with
respect to the draft rules by or on behalf of persons affected
must be lodged with the Board, and shall take such other steps as
they think best adapted for giving information with respect to those
matters to persons affected.

(2) The Board of Trade shall consider any objection or suggestion
made by or on behalf of persons appearing to them to be affected
which is lodged within the required time, and give to any person
lodging any such objection or suggestion an opportunity of
communicating with the Board on the matter.

(3) The Board of Trade may modify the draft rules in such manner
as may seem expedient on consideration of the objections or
suggestions, and may, if they think fit, withdraw any draft rule
without prejudice to the power of making a new rule with respect
to the same matter.

RAILWAY EMPLOYMENT (PREVENTION OF ACCIDENTS) ACT 1900 - SECT 3
Reference of objections to Railway Commissioners.

3.(1) If, after the consideration of any such objection (including
an objection relating to any matter within the discretion of the
Board of Trade) the person who has made it is not satisfied with
the mode in which the objection is dealt with he may, by notice
in writing to the Board of Trade given within the time limited in
that behalf by the Board, require the Board to refer the objection
to the Railway and Canal Commissioners, and the Board shall so
refer the objection accordingly.

(2) The Commissioners shall consider whether any objection so
referred to them is reasonable or not, and if they determine that
the objection is reasonable the rule to which the objection relates
shall not be made.

RAILWAY EMPLOYMENT (PREVENTION OF ACCIDENTS) ACT 1900 - SECT 4
Questions to be kept in view in considering objections.

4. The Board of Trade, in considering any objection to a draft
rule, and the Commissioners, in considering any objection referred to
them, shall, amongst other matters, have regard to the question
whether the requirements of the rule would materially interfere with
the trade of the country, or with the necessary operations of any
railway company.

RAILWAY EMPLOYMENT (PREVENTION OF ACCIDENTS) ACT 1900 - SECT 5
Making of rules.

5.(1) The Board of Trade, after the consideration of objections and
suggestions, shall (except when they withdraw the rules) send a copy
of the rules as proposed to be made to each objector, and shall
fix a limit of time, not being less than one month, within which
any notice requiring an objection to be referred to the
Commissioners is to be given to the Board.

(2) If no such notice is given to the Board of Trade within the
time so limited, the Board may make the rules as proposed to be
made; but if any such notice is given within that time the Board
shall not make the rules until the Commissioners have given their
decision on the objection, and have decided against it.

RAILWAY EMPLOYMENT (PREVENTION OF ACCIDENTS) ACT 1900 - SECT 6
Power to refer objections to referee.

6. The Board of Trade shall, on being satisfied that it is the
general desire of the objectors, refer to a referee appointed by
the Board of Trade any objections which the Board are required to
refer to the Railway and Canal Commissioners, and thereupon the
referee shall take the same proceedings, and have regard to the
same matters, and his decision shall have the same effect, as if
the objections had been referred to the Commissioners.

RAILWAY EMPLOYMENT (PREVENTION OF ACCIDENTS) ACT 1900 - SECT 7
Application of rules.

7. Rules made under this Act may apply either generally, or to any
particular railways or class of railways, and may provide for the
exemption from their operation of any specified railways or class of
railways.

RAILWAY EMPLOYMENT (PREVENTION OF ACCIDENTS) ACT 1900 - SECT 8
Power to make an order or give a direction in place of a rule.

8. Where, in the opinion of the Board of Trade, the requirements
of the case would be better met by a specific order or direction
than by a general rule, the Board of Trade may make such an order
or direction in the same manner as they may make a rule under
this Act, and subject to the same provisions, and the provisions of
this and any other Act shall apply as if the order or direction
were a rule under this Act.

RAILWAY EMPLOYMENT (PREVENTION OF ACCIDENTS) ACT 1900 - SECT 9
Power to extend time.

9. The Board of Trade may extend the time fixed by them under
this Act for the making of objections or suggestions with respect
to draft rules, or the giving of a notice requiring an objection
to be referred to the Commissioners, in the case of any objection,
suggestion, or notice, if it is shown to their satisfaction that
the extension of time is justified by the special circumstances of
the case.

RAILWAY EMPLOYMENT (PREVENTION OF ACCIDENTS) ACT 1900 - SECT 10
Application to rescind or vary rules.

10.(1) Any person affected by any rule made under this Act, which
has been in operation for a period exceeding three months, may
apply to the Board of Trade to make a rule rescinding or varying
the same. Such application shall be made in writing and shall be
accompanied by a statement of the grounds upon which it is made.

(2) If any such application is made within eighteen months after
the date on which the rule in respect of which the application is
made has come into operation, and the Board of Trade decline to
entertain the application, the Board of Trade shall, if requested by
the person making the application, refer it to the Railway and
Canal Commissioners, and the Commissioners shall consider and decide
whether the application is reasonable or not, as if it were an
objection to a rule under this Act, and if they decide that the
application is reasonable, the Board of Trade shall propose a rule
to meet it.

RAILWAY EMPLOYMENT (PREVENTION OF ACCIDENTS) ACT 1900 - SECT 11
Penalties.

11.(1) If any railway company or other company or person acts in
contravention of, or fails to comply with, any rule under this Act,
then

(a)the company or person shall be liable for each offence on
conviction under the Summary Jurisdiction Acts to a fine not
exceeding fifty pounds, or in the case of a continuing offence to
a fine not exceeding ten pounds for every day during which the
offence continues after conviction; or

(b)on the application of the Board of Trade, compliance with the
rule may be enforced by the Railway and Canal Commissioners as if
the rule were an order made by those Commissioners in the exercise
of their statutory jurisdiction.

Subs.(2) rep. by SLR 1980

S.12 rep. by 1949 c.11 s.8 sch.

RAILWAY EMPLOYMENT (PREVENTION OF ACCIDENTS) ACT 1900 - SECT 13
Inspection and notices of accidents.

13.(1) The powers of the Board of Trade for the inspection of
railways shall include power to inspect any railway for the purpose
of ascertaining whether there is any ground for proceeding under
this Act, or whether there has been any contravention of or default
in compliance with any rule made under this Act.

(2) The duty of a railway company to give notice of accidents
shall apply to accidents attended with loss of life or personal
injury to any person in the employment of the company on any line,
or siding having a junction with the railway of the railway
company, but not belonging to or in the occupation of any railway
company, in like manner as it applies to such accidents when
occurring on the railway of the company, and the provisions relating
to the notice of such accidents shall have effect accordingly.

Subs.(3) rep. by 1906 c.53 s.7(1) sch.

RAILWAY EMPLOYMENT (PREVENTION OF ACCIDENTS) ACT 1900 - SECT 14
Issuing debenture stock to meet expenses incurred under this Act.

14. Where the requirements of any rules under this Act involve any
expenditure by a railway company which would properly be chargeable
to capital account, the company may furnish to the Board of Trade
an estimate of the expenditure, and thereupon the Board of Trade
shall, on the application of the company, fix and determine the sum
which is properly chargeable to capital account, and the company may
issue debentures or debenture stock ranking pari passu with any
existing debentures or debenture stock of the company, bearing
interest at a rate not exceeding five per cent. per annum, to an
amount not exceeding the sum so fixed and determined, and any money
raised under the provisions of this section shall be applied in
carrying out the requirements of the rules, and to no other purpose
whatsoever, and no other authority, save the certificate of the
Board of Trade, shall be requisite to authorise and validate the
issue of the debentures or debenture stock.

RAILWAY EMPLOYMENT (PREVENTION OF ACCIDENTS) ACT 1900 - SECT 15
Staff, inquiries, and experiments.

15.(1) The Board of Trade may (with the concurrence of the Treasury
as to number and salary) appoint or employ such persons as appear
to them to be required for carrying this Act into effect, and may
hold such inquiries, and make such experiments as they think
expedient for that purpose.

(2) Subject to the provisions of this Act the remuneration of any
such persons, and the expenses incurred by the Board in relation to
any inspection, inquiry, or experiment under this Act shall (to an
amount approved by the Treasury) be defrayed out of moneys provided
by Parliament.

(3) It shall be the duty of every railway company to give all
reasonable facilities (subject to the due working of their traffic)
for conducting any experiments made by the Board of Trade for the
purpose of this Act, but such experiments shall be made without
risk or expense to the railway company except as may be otherwise
agreed, and except in case of default on the part of the railway
company in conducting the experiments.

(4) Where under this Act any objections are referred to a referee
instead of to the Railway and Canal Commissioners, section three of
the Board of Trade (Arbitrations, &c.) Act, 1874, shall apply as if
the referee were appointed on an application made in pursuance of a
special Act, and the objectors were parties to the application
within the meaning of that section.

(5) Where the Board of Trade hold a special inquiry with reference
to an objection to a proposed rule on the application of the
objector, the person appointed to hold the inquiry may, if on the
inquiry it appears to him that the circumstances were not such as
to render a special inquiry necessary, order the objector to pay
the whole or any part of the costs certified by the Board to have
been incurred by them in holding the special inquiry, and any
amount so ordered to be paid may be recovered as a debt due to
the Crown.

RAILWAY EMPLOYMENT (PREVENTION OF ACCIDENTS) ACT 1900 - SECT 16
Definition of ""railway'' and ""railway company.''

16. In this Act

The expression "railway" means any railway used for the purposes of
public traffic whether passenger, goods, or other traffic, and
includes any works of the railway company connected with the
railway; and

The expression "railway company" includes a company or person working
a railway under lease or otherwise.

RAILWAY EMPLOYMENT (PREVENTION OF ACCIDENTS) ACT 1900 - SECT 17
Obligation of railway company under terms of lease or agreement.

17. If any rule made under this Act imposes an obligation on a
railway company inconsistent with the terms of any lease or
agreement under which the railway of that company is worked, the
railway company shall not be under any liability for any breach of
or default in complying with the terms of any such lease or
agreement, so far as that breach or default is a necessary
consequence of compliance with the rule.

RAILWAY EMPLOYMENT (PREVENTION OF ACCIDENTS) ACT 1900 - SECT 18
Provision against double notices, double inspections, &c.

18. Nothing in this Act shall require notice of accidents to be
given in cases where such a notice is required to be given under
any Act relating to factories or mines, or authorise any inspection,
inquiry, or investigation to be made where an inspection, inquiry,
or investigation may be made with respect to the same matter for
the same purpose under any other Act by, or by any officer of, a
Government Department.

S.19 (application to Ireland)

RAILWAY EMPLOYMENT (PREVENTION OF ACCIDENTS) ACT 1900 - SECT 20
Short title.

20. This Act may be cited as the Railway Employment (Prevention of
Accidents) Act, 1900.

<1.Brake levers on both sides of waggons.

<2.Labelling waggons.

<3.Movement of waggons by propping and tow roping.

<4.Steam or other power brakes on engines.

<5.Lighting of stations or sidings where shunting operations are frequently carried on after dark.

<6.Protection of point rods and signal wires, and position of ground levers working points.

<7.Position  of offices and cabins near working lines.

<8.Marking of fouling points.

<9.Construction and protection of gauge glasses.

10.Arrangement of tool boxes and water gauges on engines.

11.Working of trains without brake vans upon running lines beyond
the limits of stations.

12.Protection to permanent way men when relaying or repairing
permanent way.