Regulation of Railways Act 1889

The Regulation of Railways Act 1889 (52 & 53 Vict c 57) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is one of the Railway Regulation Acts 1840 to 1893.[2] It was enacted following the Armagh rail disaster.

The Regulation of Railways Act 1889[1]
Act of Parliament
Long titleAn Act to amend the Regulation of Railways Acts; and for other purposes.
Citation52 & 53 Vict c 57
Introduced bySir Michael Hicks Beach (Commons)
Territorial extentUnited Kingdom
Dates
Royal assent30 August 1889
Other legislation
Amended byTransport Act 1962, British Railways Act 1965, London Transport Act 1965
Status: Amended
Text of statute as originally enacted
Text of the Regulation of Railways Act 1889 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.

Safety

It empowered the Board of Trade to require any railway company to:

  • adopt the block system of signalling on any passenger railway;
  • to provide for the interlocking of points and signals on such railways;
  • to provide for and use on all passenger trains continuous brakes; the brakes must be instantaneous in action; self applying in the event of any failure in continuity; capable of being applied to every vehicle of the train; and in regular use in daily working.

Provision was made to enable the railway companies to issue debentures to pay for the capital cost of the equipment.

There were also provisions regarding reporting the number of persons in safety-related employment who worked more than a specified number of hours.

Tickets

The Act also requires passengers to show tickets and to pay a penalty if travelling without a ticket. It also gives powers to agents of the railway to request a name and address and to make it an offence not to provide these details when requested. Prosecutions are still brought under the Act today.

References
  1. This short title was conferred by the Regulation of Railways Act 1889, section 8(1)
  2. The Short Titles Act 1896, section 2(1) and Schedule 2
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