Citation and commencement

1.  This Order may be cited as the Railways (Crossrail Services) Exemption Order 2015 and comes into force on 31st May 2015.

Interpretation

2.  In this Order-

"concession agreement" means an agreement entered into by a TfL company under which another person agrees to provide a railway passenger service for that TfL company;

"TfL company" means Transport for London(2) or any of its subsidiaries; and

"TfL concessionaire" means, in respect of a railway passenger service provided for a TfL company, the person who has agreed by a concession agreement to provide that service.

Franchise exemption

3.  Exemption from designation under section 23(1) of the Railways Act 1993(3) (passenger services to be subject to franchise agreements) is granted to each TfL concessionaire in respect of any railway passenger service operated by that concessionaire on a route specified in the Schedule or part of that route.

Article 3

SCHEDULEThe specified routes

• Reading station to London Paddington station (via Hayes and Harlington station).

• Heathrow station to London Paddington station (via Hayes and Harlington station).

• London Paddington station to London Liverpool Street station (via Tottenham Court Road station).

• London Liverpool Street station to Shenfield station (via Whitechapel station).

• London Liverpool Street station to Abbey Wood station (via Whitechapel station).

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order grants an exemption from the franchising requirements in section 23 of the Railways Act 1993 to concessionaires of Transport for London (TfL) and their subsidiaries. This exemption relates to any railway passenger service which a concessionaire operates on the Crossrail routes, being routes between Reading and Heathrow through central London to Shenfield and Abbey Wood.

This exemption from the requirement for these railways passenger services to be provided under a franchise agreement is granted as part of the transfer of responsibility for the operation of these services from the Secretary of State for Transport to TfL.

An impact assessment has not been produced, because no impact on the costs of business, the public sector, third sector organisations, regulators or consumers is foreseen. An Explanatory memorandum has been prepared and is available alongside the instrument on www.legislation.gov.uk.