| 15 March 2000
ORR/00/06 Regulator calls for Competition Act Compliance Forum for the railway industry The Rail Regulator Tom Winsor has called for the railwayindustry to follow the example of the telecommunications industry in setting upa Compliance Forum to minimise the risk of infringements of the Competition Act1998, which came into effect on
1 March 2000. Speaking today at the Twenty-fifth Statutory Meeting of theCentral Rail Users Consultative Committee in London, Tom Winsor said: "The jurisdiction of the Competition Act is determinedby the subject matter of the agreement concerned whether or not it relatesto the supply of railway services. It does not depend on whether the undertakingconcerned is licenced under the Railways Act. Application of the Competition Actto the railway industry is the joint responsibility of myself and the DirectorGeneral of Fair Trading, and a commercial agreement or business conduct relatingto the supply of railway services will generally be dealt with by my Office. " I expect companies to implement corporate complianceprogrammes to minimise the risk of infringing the Competition Act bysystematically ensuring that all relevant employees are sufficientlyknowledgeable about the provisions of the law, and that they will put thatknowledge to good effect. To develop the compliance culture that will ensurethat this happens, I would like to see the railway industry follow the exampleof the telecommunications industry and create a Compliance Forum. Developing acompliance programme is not just about producing nicely bound documents whichgather dust on managers bookshelves." Notes on the Competition Act: Applications to the Railway Sector are available as an Acrobat PDF file. | 
