S.I. No. 204/1996:

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (ACCESS TO RAILWAY INFRASTRUCTURE) REGULATIONS, 1996.

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (ACCESS TO RAILWAY INFRASTRUCTURE) REGULATIONS, 1996.

I, MICHAEL LOWRY, Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972), and for the purpose of giving effect to Articles 2 and 10 of Council Directive 9¼40/EEC of 29th July, 1991⁽¹⁾, hereby make the following Regulations:

⁽¹⁾O.J. No. L 237/25.

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Access to Railway Infrastructure) Regulations, 1996.

(2) These Regulations shall come into operation on the 1st day of July, 1996.

2. (1) In these Regulations "the Directive" means Council Directive 9¼40/EEC of 29th July, 1991, on the development of the Community's railways.

(2) In these Regulations:

( a ) a reference to a Regulation is to a Regulation of these Regulations;

( b ) a reference to a paragraph is to the paragraph of the Regulation in which the reference occurs.

(3) A word or expression that is used in these Regulations and is also used in the Directive has, unless the contrary intention appears, the same meaning in these Regulations as it has in the Directive.

3. A railway undertaking whose activity is limited to the provision of solely urban, suburban or regional services shall be excluded from the scope of the Directive.

4. An international grouping formed by railway undertakings established in the State and in one or more other Member States shall be granted access and transit rights in the State for international services between any of the states in which the undertakings are established.

5. An international grouping formed by railway undertakings established in two or more Member States (other than the State) shall be granted transit rights in the State for international services between any of the states in which the undertakings are established.

6. A railway undertaking within the scope of the Directive shall be granted access on equitable conditions to the railway infrastructure in the State for the purpose of operating international combined transport goods services.

7. (1) A railway undertaking engaged in international combined transport of goods shall conclude the necessary administrative, technical and financial agreements with the managers of the railway infrastructure used with a view to regulating traffic control and safety issues concerning the international transport services referred to in Regulations 4 and 5.

(2) A railway undertaking that is a member of an international grouping shall join with the other railway undertaking or undertakings concerned in concluding the agreements referred to in paragraph (1).

(3) The conditions governing agreements in paragraphs (1) and (2) shall be non-discriminatory.

GIVEN under my Official Seal. this 1st day of July, 1996.

MICHAEL LOWRY,

Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

The purpose of these Regulations is to give effect to Articles 2 and 10 of Council Directive 9¼40/EEC on the development of the Community's railways and in particular, to set out the conditions under which international groupings and railway undertakings shall be granted access to Ireland's railway infrastructure.