Citation, commencement and extent

1. —(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Railways (Access to Training Services) Regulations 2006 and shall come into force on 10th April 2006.

(2) These Regulations do not apply to—

(a) the tunnel system as defined in section 1(7) of the Channel Tunnel Act 1987( 3 ); or

(b) Northern Ireland.

Interpretation

2. —(1) In these Regulations—

...

“ infrastructure manager ” means any body or undertaking that is responsible in particular for establishing and maintaining railway infrastructure, or a part thereof which may also include the management of infrastructure control and safety systems. The functions of the infrastructure manager on a network or part of a network may be allocated to different bodies or undertakings;

“ railway system ” means the totality of the subsystems for structural and operational areas, as defined in paragraph 2.1 to 2.7 of Annex II to Directive 2008/57/EC , as well as the management and operation of the system as a whole;

“ railway undertaking ” means a public or private undertaking, licensed according to applicable legislation, the activity of which is to provide transport of goods and/or passengers by rail on the basis that the undertaking must ensure traction; this also includes undertakings which provide traction only;

“safety certificate” and “safety critical task” have the same meanings as in the Safety Regulations( 4 ); and

“the Safety Regulations” means the Railways and Other Guided Transport Systems (Safety) Regulations 2006( 5 ).

(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Scope

3. —(1) These Regulations do not apply to training services provided—

(a) in relation to the railway systems described in paragraph (2); or

(b) by the operators of such systems.

(2) Those systems are—

(a) metros, trams and other light rail systems;

(b) networks that are functionally separate from the rest of the railway system and intended only for the operation of local, urban or suburban passenger services; or

(c) privately owned railway infrastructure that exists solely for use by the infrastructure owner for its own freight operations.

Access to training services

4. —(1) A railway undertaking applying for a safety certificate in accordance with Part 2 of the Safety Regulations is entitled to fair and non-discriminatory access to training services for train drivers and staff accompanying the trains, whenever such training is necessary for the fulfilment of requirements to obtain that safety certificate.

(2) The services offered under paragraph (1) must include training on—

(a) necessary route knowledge;

(b) operating rules and procedures;

(c) the signalling and control command system; and

(d) emergency procedures,

in respect of the routes operated.

(3) An infrastructure manager is, and those of his staff performing safety critical tasks are, entitled to fair and non-discriminatory access to training services.

(4) If the training services to which access is granted under this regulation are available only through the services of one single railway undertaking or infrastructure manager, that railway undertaking or infrastructure manager must make those services available to other railway undertakings or, as the case may be, infrastructure managers, at a reasonable and non-discriminatory price, which is cost-related and may include a profit margin.

(5) For the purpose of ensuring that training, qualifications and experience acquired by a member of staff of a railway undertaking can be taken into account by another railway undertaking to whom application for employment as a train driver, on-board staff or staff performing safety critical tasks is made by that staff member, that staff member must be granted access to all documents attesting to his relevant training, qualifications and experience, and is entitled to have copies of such documentation.

(6) For the purposes of this regulation, the entitlement to access to training services includes the right of access to such facilities as form a part of those training services, including where such facilities do not form part of a railway system.

Appeal to the regulatory body

5. —(1) Any—

(a) railway undertaking;

(b) infrastructure manager;

(c) staff of an infrastructure manager performing safety critical tasks; or

(d) employee of any railway undertaking,

who is denied the entitlements conferred on it or him by, as the case may be, regulation 4(1),(2), (3) or (5) has a right of appeal to the Office of Rail and Road .

(2) In relation to training services to which regulation 4(4) applies a railway undertaking or infrastructure manager who considers that the price charged for access to those services is unreasonable or discriminatory has a right of appeal to the Office of Rail and Road .

(3) An appeal made under paragraphs (1) or (2) must be lodged by way of an application in such form and manner as the Office of Rail and Road may from time to time prescribe, and that Office must make that prescription and details of such manner and form publicly available.

(4) The Office of Rail and Road must, within two months of the date of receipt of all relevant information in relation to an appeal to which this regulation applies—

(a) make a decision on; and

(b) where appropriate, issue a direction to the person against whose decision or action the appeal is brought to remedy the situation arising out of,

an appeal brought under this regulation.

(5) Without prejudice to the right of any person to make an application to the court under Part 54 of the Civil Procedure Rules 1998( 6 )—

(a) a decision by the Office of Rail and Road on an appeal brought under this regulation is binding on all parties affected by that decision; and

(b) it is the duty of any person to whom a direction is given under this regulation to comply with and give effect to that direction.