Policy paper

The Railways (Revocation and Consequential Provision) Regulations 2024 – explanatory notes

Published 8 February 2024

This was published under the 2022 to 2024 Sunak Conservative government

Applies to England, Scotland and Wales

This document relates to the Railways (Revocation and Consequential Provision) Regulations 2024 statutory instrument (SI) which:

• revokes several pieces of assimilated law
• makes amendments to existing legislation consequential on those revocations

This table list details of the:

• regulations that are being revoked
• purpose of those regulations and why they are being revoked

Retained EU law (REUL)	Purpose of REUL	Reason for revocation
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/572[footnote 1] of 24 April 2020 on the reporting structure to be followed for railway accident and incident investigation reports.	This implementing regulation established prescriptive drafting requirements for accident investigation bodies to follow when preparing reports of accidents and incidents on the railways following an investigation. The implementing regulation specified the content to be included in these reports, namely key objectives, descriptions of events, analysis, breakdown of roles and duties, relevant human factors, and any conclusions, among other details. These requirements were designed to assist national investigation bodies across the EU and harmonise the approach to reporting accidents and investigations.	The combined assessment of the department and RAIB is that the reporting requirements are unnecessarily rigid for the preparation of railway accident investigation reports in GB. Some requirements of the implementing regulation are also now obsolete. Domestic requirements are less prescriptive than the requirements in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/572 and have been in place since 2005. Accident reports produced under the requirements in the Railways (Accident Investigations and Reporting) Regulations 2005 are well understood and accepted by stakeholders in GB, and there is no discernible benefit from applying the rules in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/572. This will not change the way in which accident investigations themselves are undertaken or reported.
Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2020/453[footnote 2] of 27 March 2020 on the harmonised standards for railway products drafted in support of Directive 2008/57/EC on the interoperability of the rail system within the Community.	This implementing regulation set out the harmonised standards (European norms) that are referred to in GB’s rail technical standards (National Technical Specification Notices - NTSNs) and the EU Technical Specifications for Interoperability (TSIs) which only apply in Northern Ireland.	It is no longer obligatory to have legislation in place within the GB rail system which supports the harmonised standards for interoperable railway products on the EU railway system. The revocation of this implementing decision is expected to have very little to no impact because the implementing regulation concerns rules for EU institutions harmonising standards for railway products. The UK government has its own procedures for mandating standards in GB.
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/424[footnote 3] of 19 March 2020 on submitting information to the Commission as regards non-application of technical specifications for interoperability in accordance with Directive (EU) 2016/797[footnote 4].	This implementing regulation set out the process for obtaining a derogation from the European Commission for non-application of EU rail technical standards.	This implementing regulation is no longer applicable to the GB railway system as the role of granting exemptions from standards requirements in GB now sits with the Department for Transport as the competent authority. The revocation of this implementing regulation is expected to have very little to no impact.
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/764[footnote 5] of 2 May 2018 on the fees and charges payable to the European Union Agency for Railways and their conditions of payment	This implementing regulation set out the fees and charges to be paid to the European Union Agency for Railways with respect to its roles in granting authorisations and approvals for vehicles and infrastructure to be used on the European railway network.	The European Union Agency for Railways no longer has any role in relation to the GB railway system, it is not considered requisite for this implementing regulation to remain in force. The revocation of this implementing regulation is expected to have very little to no impact.
Regulation (EU) 2016/796 on the European Union Agency for Railways and repealing Regulation (EC) No 881/2004[footnote 6].	This regulation set out the detailed role and functions of the European Union Agency for Railways in line with the recast Interoperability Directive (2016/797).	The European Union Agency for Railways no longer has any role in relation to GB railways, and the UK did not transpose Directive 2016/797 prior to EU exit. It is not considered requisite for this legislation to remain in force. The revocation of this regulation is expected to have very little to no impact.
Council Decision (EU) 2018/2022[footnote 7] of 17 December 2018 drawing up a list of qualified experts for the Boards of Appeal of the European Union Agency for Railways (notified under document (2018) 8561).	This decision set out a list of qualified experts selected by the European Commission for the Boards of Appeal of the European Union Agency for Railways.	The European Union Agency for Railways does not have any role in the GB railway system. It is not considered requisite to retain this decision, as this decision is no longer applicable. The revocation of this decision is expected to have very little to no impact.
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/867[footnote 8] of 13 June 2018 laying down the rules of procedure of the Board(s) of Appeal of the European Union Agency for Railways.	This implementing regulation set out the rules and procedures of the Board(s) of Appeal at the European Union Agency for Railways.	The European Union Agency for Railways does not have any role in the GB railway system.  It is not considered requisite to retain this implementing regulation as it is no longer applicable now that the UK is no longer a member of the EU. The revocation of this implementing regulation is expected to have very little to no impact.
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/2177[footnote 9] on access to service facilities and rail-related services	This implementing regulation added additional details to the requirements set in the AMRs regarding the rail service facilities[footnote 10] listed in that implementing regulation and services provided in these facilities. The implementing regulation ensured that certain information on the service facility including access, charges and dispute resolution processes was made available to operators. The implementing regulation also set out that, subject to specified exemptions, service providers must allow railway undertakings access to facilities on a non-discriminatory basis, how access requests should be considered and the circumstances where service providers need to consider whether there is a viable alternative.	The impact of revocation is expected to be very limited. This is because access to services facilities would continue to be regulated under the AMRs. Non-discrimination remains enshrined in the AMRs, including on the need for service providers to attempt to meet all requests and for information about service facilities to be provided to the IM for the network statement[footnote 11]. The provision for appeal to ORR under this implementing regulation is also retained through regulations 6 and 32 of the AMRs, and the right for any person to apply to ORR to enter into an access agreement with facility owners of certain facilities under section 17 or section 22 of the RA1993 also remains unchanged. In addition, ORR continues to have powers under the Competition Act 1998 and has published guidance on how this applies to the supply of services relating to the railways.
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1795[footnote 12] laying down procedure and criteria for the application of the economic equilibrium test pursuant to article 11 of Directive 2012/34/EU.	This implementing regulation set out the processes and procedures that the regulator must carry out when assessing whether an application for access to rail infrastructure by an operator will have a substantial negative impact on the revenue of a rail franchise on the same route and provides for EU member states or the regulator to be able to charge a fee for carrying out this assessment.	The impact of revocation is expected to be very limited as ORR must still consider the principal purpose of an international passenger service and its impact on the economic equilibrium of a relevant public service contract under the AMRs. The likelihood of ORR having to conduct an economic equilibrium test (EET) is very slim as an international operator is not likely to impact on any public passenger service, which in GB is limited to domestic passenger services. The EET requirement has been in place since 2015 and included domestic services until the requirement was repealed in 2020. To date, no circumstances have arisen that required the EET to be used.
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/10[footnote 13] of 6 January 2015 on criteria for applicants for rail infrastructure capacity and repealing Implementing Regulation (EU) No 870/2014.	This implementing regulation allowed IMs to set requirements regarding applicants to ensure that their legitimate expectations about future revenues and use of the infrastructure are safeguarded.	This implementing regulation has a very limited scope and sets out the financial guarantees that an IM may request from rail operators. Following revocation, the objectives of this implementing regulation continue to be delivered under the domestic licensing regime and provisions in the AMRs.
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/545[footnote 14] of 7 April 2016 on procedures and criteria concerning framework agreements for the allocation of rail infrastructure capacity.	This implementing regulation set out procedures and criteria concerning framework agreements for the allocation of rail infrastructure capacity to operators by the IM.	The impact of revocation is expected to be limited; large parts of this implementing regulation are not directly applied in the UK. Moreover, the RA1993 includes the same provisions as are set out in this implementing regulation and are not affected by its revocation. Following repeal, most protections are met by a combination of the RA1993, AMRs and the Network Code[footnote 15]. There is no longer a requirement to produce a framework capacity statement[footnote 16].

1. EUR 2020/572 ↩

2. OJ L 95, 30.3.2020, p. 1–7 ↩

3. EUR 2020/424 ↩

4. OJ L 138, 26.5.2016, p. 44–101 ↩

5. EUR 2018/764 ↩

6. OJ L 138, 26.5.2016, p. 1 ↩

7. EUR 2018/2022 ↩

8. EUR 2018/867 ↩

9. EUR 2017/2177 ↩

10. A ‘railway facility’ means any track, station or light maintenance depot. ↩

11. A ‘network statement’ presents all the information that potential applicants for network access need to know in order to request capacity on other networks. Network statements are produced by each qualifying railway infrastructure manager in the UK. ↩

12. EUR 2018/1795 ↩

13. EUR 2015/10 ↩

14. EUR 2016/545 ↩

15. The Network Code is a set of contractual rules incorporated into each track access agreement between Network Rail and all train operators. It covers those areas where all parties are obliged to work together to the same standards and timescales. ↩

16. A ‘framework capacity statement’ means an overview of both the framework capacity allocated on the lines of a given network and an indication of the volume and nature of the available capacity on such lines, with the purpose of informing potential applicants for framework agreements. ↩