Statutory Rules of Northern Ireland

"class of passenger accommodation" means a type or area of passenger accommodation in a rail vehicle designated for persons paying the fare appropriate to that accommodation;

"contrast" means a contrast in the amount of light, which is reflected by the surfaces of the parts of a regulated rail vehicle or its equipment, which are required by these Regulations to contrast;

"light maintenance services" means services of any of the following descriptions, that is to say - 

(a) the refuelling, or the cleaning of the exterior, of locomotives or other rolling stock; and

(b) the carrying out to locomotives or other rolling stock of maintenance work of a kind which is normally carried out at regular intervals of twelve months or less to prepare the locomotives or other rolling stock for service;

"passenger saloon" means that part of the interior of a regulated rail vehicle provided for the accommodation of passengers but does not include a toilet cubicle or a vestibule adjoining an exterior doorway;

"photocell" means a sensing device which operates using a combination of a beam of light, a transmitter and a receiver;

"priority seat" means a seat designated in accordance with regulation 8;

"railway" means a system of transport employing parallel rails which - 

(a) provide support and guidance for vehicles carried on flanged wheels; and

(b) form a track which is of a gauge of at least 350 millimetres;

(c) "reference wheelchair" means an occupied wheelchair having the dimensions shown in Diagram A in the Schedule;

"train" means two or more rail vehicles;

"wheelchair-compatible doorway" means a doorway provided in accordance with regulation 18;

"wheelchair-compatible sleeping compartment" means a compartment in a regulated rail vehicle with sleeping accommodation which is provided for a disabled person in a wheelchair in accordance with regulation 16;

"wheelchair space" means a space in a regulated rail vehicle for a disabled person in a wheelchair which is provided in accordance with regulation 15; and

"width" means, when applied to a doorway or passageway, the unobstructed width of that doorway or passageway up to a height of 1,400 millimetres above the door sill or floor, and "wide" shall be construed accordingly.

(a) emit a distinct sound for a period of not less than 3 seconds commencing when the door becomes openable by a passenger;

(b) if the door is operated by a member of the operator's staff, emit a different distinct sound commencing not less than 3 seconds before the door starts to close.

(a) the space shall be not less than 1,300 millimetres long measured in the longitudinal plane of the regulated rail vehicle and not less than 750 millimetres wide measured in the transverse plane of that vehicle;

(b) subject to regulation 17 there shall be no obstruction of the space between the floor and the ceiling of the regulated rail vehicle, other than an overhead luggage rack or an openable window (if fitted);

(c) at one end of the space there shall be a structure or fitting which shall have a minimum width of 700 millimetres and shall be capable of preventing a reference wheelchair, which has been positioned with its back against the structure or fitting, whether or not that movement or tip includes a sideways movement or tip;

(d) no magazine rack or other fitting for the use of other passengers shall be accessible through the space, other than an overhead luggage rack or an openable window (if fitted);

(e) the space shall be fitted with a device, which shall - 


(i) enable a disabled person in a wheelchair to communicate with a person who is in a position to take appropriate action in an emergency;

(ii) be placed within reach of a person in a reference wheelchair;

(iii) be operable by the palm of a person's hand; and

(iv) not require a force greater than 30 newtowns for operation; and



(f) a sign conforming to diagram C in the Schedule shall be placed immediately next to, or in, the wheelchair space so as to identify the space as a wheelchair space.

    (2)

(a) If a wheelchair space is not needed by a disabled person in a wheelchair, folding or tip-up seats may be used in that space;

(b) when folded or tipped up, those seats shall not project into the space.

(a) the provision of wheelchair spaces, their dimensions and other requirements (regulations 14 and 15);

(b) the provision of wheelchair-compatible sleeping compartments (regulation 16);

(c) the provision of tables in wheelchair spaces, if other passengers have them (regulation 17);

(d) the provision of wheelchair-compatible doorways and passageways to wheelchair spaces and wheelchair-compatible sleeping compartments (regulation 18);

(e) additional requirements for toilets (regulations 19 and 20);

(f) requirements relating to telephones for passengers' use (regulation 21);

(g) minimum internal door width (regulation 22);

(h) the provision of boarding devices, which may be lifts or ramps, and requirements relating to them (regulation 23); and

(i) catering services, if such services are available for other passengers (regulation 24).

These Regulations have been notified to the European Commission pursuant to European Parliament and Council Directive 98/34/EC of 22nd June 1998 laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical standards and regulations (O.J. No. L204, 21.7.98, p. 37).