Closures
The Railways Act 2005 (the 2005 Act) sets out statutory procedures concerning proposals for the closure of passenger services, passenger networks and stations. The 2005 Act placed a duty on Scottish Ministers and the Secretary of State to publish closures guidance outlining how such proposals should be assessed and processed. The “Railways Closure Guidance” was published on 18 October 2006 and came into effect on 1 December 2006.
ORR’s function under the 2005 Act is to:
- ensure that the consultation to be undertaken in accordance with the closures guidance, has been carried out appropriately;
- evaluate the assessment made to ensure that the published methodology has been followed correctly; and
- consider whether the proposed closure represents poor or low value for money in comparison with retention.
If ORR determines that the proposal fails to satisfy the above criteria, we must issue a closure non-ratification notice. Otherwise we must issue a closure ratification notice.
The 2005 Act does not require proposals to make minor modifications (as defined in section 35 of the 2005 Act) to be referred to ORR for similar ratification. The determination of a minor modification may be made by either the Scottish Ministers or the Secretary of State. Any such determination must, however, be notified to ORR.
In order to provide clarity on how we intend to carry out this ratification role, and to establish the procedures that we intend to follow, we consulted on a draft procedures document on 11 May 2006. Having considered the comments received on this document, a summary of which (along with our views on the issues raised) can be found as a Related link. Copies of the responses received are available at the foot of this page.
In the light of these responses, ORR published its procedures guidance document on 1 December 2006. This document will be used to evaluate closure references as and when they are received.
Links to ORR’s document and the DfT/Scottish Executive closures guidance to which it refers can also be found in the related links on this page.
Any questions relating to closures should be addressed to either:
Documentation
Responses to Closures consultation of December 2006
Ratification notice for the closure of Abercynon North (52 Kb)
