Citation and commencement

1. This Order may be cited as the Rail Vehicle Accessibility (Festiniog Railway Company Vehicle Number 122) Exemption Order 2003 and shall come into force on 31st July 2003.

Interpretation

2. —(1) In this Order “the exempted vehicle” means the rail vehicle known as the Festiniog Railway Company’s third class saloon carriage number 122, as built and owned by the Festiniog Railway Company for use on the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways.

(2) Any reference in this Order to a numbered regulation is a reference to a regulation bearing that number in the Rail Vehicle Accessibility Regulations 1998( 2 ), and any reference to a diagram is a reference to the diagram bearing that number in the Schedule to those Regulations.

Authorisations and exemptions

3. —(1) Subject to articles 4 to 9, the exempted vehicle is hereby authorised to be used for carriage even though it does not conform with those provisions of the Rail Vehicle Accessibility Regulations 1998 referred to in paragraph (2).

(2) The provisions with which the exempted vehicle is not required to conform are—

(a) regulation 4(2);

(b) regulation 4(3);

(c) regulation 8(3), in so far as it requires compliance with the specification in diagram B1;

(d) regulation 11(1)(a);

(e) regulation 12;

(f) regulation 13; and

(g) regulation 15.

Conditions

4. It is a condition of the exemption granted by article 3(2)(c), in respect of regulation 8(3), that diagram B1 shall apply to any priority seat as if for 450 millimetres minimum seat cushion width there is substituted 430 millimetres.

5. —(1) It is a condition of the exemption granted by article 3(2)(d), in respect of regulation 11(1)(a), that handrails which comply with the requirements of subparagraph (2) are fitted on the exterior of the exempted vehicle.

(2) The requirements with which handrails fitted on the exterior of the vehicle must comply are that—

(a) they shall be fitted immediately adjacent to one side of every passenger doorway in the side of the vehicle; and

(b) they shall contrast with the parts of the vehicle adjacent to each handrail.

6. It is a condition of the exemption granted by article 3(2)(f), in respect of regulation 13, that the operator shall provide in any train of which the exempted vehicle forms a part a person, other than the driver of that train, who—

(a) has attended a training course, which has been approved by the Secretary of State, to be trained in awareness of the needs of persons with visual and hearing disabilities; and

(b) is available, so far as is practicable, to assist visually and hearing impaired persons.

Expiry

7. The authorisation given by article 3(1) shall cease forthwith if the exempted vehicle is operated by a person other than the Festiniog Railway Company unless the Secretary of State has been given written notice in advance specifying the name and address of that other person.

8. The authorisation given by article 3(1) shall cease forthwith if the exempted vehicle is operated on a route other than that between—

(a) Blaenau Ffestiniog station and Porthmadog station, or

(b) on the Welsh Highland Railway between Caernarfon station and Rhyd-Ddu station,

unless the Secretary of State has been given written notice in advance specifying the details of the route, and he has given his written approval for the exempted vehicle to be operated on that route.

9. The exemption given by article 3(2)(f), in respect of regulation 13, shall cease at the end of May 2026.