Transport Act, 1950

Abandonment of a railway line by the Board.

21.—(1) In this section—

the expression “road authority” has the same meaning as in the Local Government Act, 1946 (No. 24 of 1946);

the expression “railway line” includes a section of railway line; the expression “public road” means any road which a road authority is under a statutory obligation to maintain.

(2) (a) Where—

(i) an order has been made under section 9 of the Railways Act, 1933 (No. 9 of 1933), authorising the termination of all train services run over a specified railway line owned or operated by the Board, or

(ii) an order has been made under section 55 exempting the Board from the obligation to operate a service of trains over a specified railway line or to restore any service of trains over a specified railway line which has been temporarily discontinued under the Emergency Powers (Córas Iompair Éireann) (Reduction of Railway Services) Order, 1944 (S. R. & O., No. 354 of 1944), and the order relates to all services of trains over that specified railway line and is not expressed to be in operation for a specified period,

then, the Board may, subject to this subsection, by order (in this section referred to as an abandonment order) declare its intention of abandoning that railway line.

(b) An abandonment order shall operate as an authority to the Board to abandon the railway line to which the order relates.

(c) The Board shall not make an abandonment order in relation to a railway line, unless at least one month before making the order, the Board—

(i) has published, in the Iris Oifigiúil and in such newspapers, circulating in the district in which the railway line is situate, as the Board thinks proper, notice of its intention to make the order, and

(ii) has served a notice of its intention to make the order on every road authority within whose functional area the railway line is situate.

(d) Every abandonment order shall specify the date on which it is to come into force.

(3) Where an abandonment order has been made in relation to a railway line, the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say:—

(a) where the railway line has been carried over a public road by means of a bridge which the Board was, immediately before the date (in this subsection referred to as the operative date) on which the order comes into force, under a liability to maintain—

(i) the Board shall, for the purposes of this paragraph, appoint a date (in this paragraph referred to as the appointed date) which shall not be earlier than twelve months after the operative date,

(ii) the Board and the road authority, charged with the maintenance of the public road, may, before the appointed date, enter into an agreement for the removal or other method of dealing with the bridge (including, if necessary, either the restoration of the public road to like or other equally convenient state as it was in before it was interfered with by the makers of the railway line or the diversion of the public road) upon such terms and conditions as the parties thereto think fit, and, in that case, the liability (except such (if any) as may be imposed by the agreement) of the Board to maintain the bridge shall cease upon the execution of the agreement.

(iii) if no such agreement is so executed, but the Board removes the superstructure of the bridge before the appointed date, then—

(I) the liability of the Board to maintain the bridge shall cease as on and from the date of removal, and

(II) the road authority shall, as on and from the date of removal, be liable to maintain so much of the bridge as remains after the removal of the superstructure, and

(III) the Board shall pay to the road authority compensation for any expenses which the road authority may incur by reason of the liability so imposed on them;

(iv) if no such agreement is so executed and if the superstructure of the bridge is not so removed, then—

(I) the liability of the Board to maintain the bridge shall cease on the appointed date, and

(II) the road authority shall, as on and from the appointed date, be liable to maintain the bridge, and

(III) the Board shall pay to the road authority compensation for any expenses which the road authority may incur by reason of the liability so imposed on them;

(b) where a public road has been carried over the railway line by means of a bridge which the Board was, immediately before the operative date, under a liability to maintain—

(i) the Board shall, for the purposes of this paragraph, appoint a date (in this paragraph referred to as the appointed date) which shall not be earlier than twelve months after the operative date,

(ii) the Board and the road authority charged with the maintenance of the public road may, before the appointed date, enter into an agreement for the removal or other method of dealing with the bridge (including, if necessary, either the restoration of the public road to like or other equally convenient state as it was in before it was interfered with by the makers of the railway line or the diversion of the public road) upon such terms and conditions as the parties thereto think fit, and, in that case, the liability (except such (if any) as may be imposed by the agreement) of the Board to maintain the bridge shall cease upon the execution of the agreement,

(iii) if no such agreement is so executed, then—

(I) the liability of the Board to maintain the bridge shall cease on the appointed date, and

(II) as on and from the appointed date, the road authority shall be liable to maintain the bridge, and

(III) the Board shall pay to the road authority compensation for any expenses which the road authority may incur by reason of the liability so imposed on them,

(iv) references in this paragraph to the liability to maintain a bridge shall, in case the Board was immediately before the operative date under a liability to maintain any approaches (including the surface of a road, pavements, earthworks, fences, drains or works) to the bridge, be construed as references to the liability to maintain the bridge and those approaches;

(c) if the railway line crosses on the level any public road, the Board shall, as soon as conveniently may be, remove the rails and do all such other things as may be necessary to render that part of the said public road on which the railway line crossed fit and safe for use by the public, and thereupon the liability of the Board to maintain the said part in repair shall cease;

(d) the liability, imposed on the Board by section 68 of the Railways' Clauses Consolidation Act, 1845 , to maintain any works (other than bridges, arches or culverts over or under the railway line) of the kind mentioned in the said section 68 made, in pursuance of that section, for the accommodation of owners and occupiers of land adjoining the railway line shall as from the operative date cease, but the Board shall pay to any owner or occupier of land adjoining the railway line for the accommodation of whom any such works were made in pursuance of the said section 68 and which the Board was immediately before the operative date liable to maintain, compensation for all such injury or damage (if any) as he may sustain by reason of the cesser of the liability of the Board to maintain those works;

(e) where any structure (being a bridge, arch or culvert which the Board was immediately before the operative date liable to maintain) was, in pursuance of section 68 of the said Railways' Clauses Consolidation Act, 1845 , made over or under the railway line for the accommodation of owners and occupiers of land adjoining the railway line—

(i) if the Board, before the expiration of the period of twelve months commencing on the operative date, commence the following works, namely, the replacement of the said structure by a crossing on the level over the site of the abandoned railway and the rendering of the said crossing fit and safe for use, then, as from the completion of the said works, the liability of the Board shall cease and it shall not thereafter be under any obligation to maintain the said crossing in repair,

(ii) if the Board does not before the expiration of the said period commence the said works—

(I) the Board shall as on and from the expiration of the said period cease to be liable to maintain the said structure,

(II) the Board shall pay to any owner or occupier of the land adjoining the railway line for the accommodation of whom the said structure was made compensation for all such injury or damage (if any) as he may sustain by reason of the cesser of the liability of the Board to maintain the said structure,

(iii) where, immediately before the operative date, a right of way was exercisable over the said structure—

(I) in case the Board, before the expiration of the period referred to in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph, commences the works referred to in the said subparagraph (i), then, as from the completion of the said works, a right of way similar to that which was exercisable over the said structure shall, by virtue of this subparagraph, be exercisable over the said crossing, and any person for the time being entitled thereto may do all such things as are reasonably necessary for keeping the said crossing fit and safe for use,

(II) in any other case, the right of way over the said structure shall continue to be exercisable, and any person for the time being entitled thereto may do all such things as are reasonably necessary for keeping the said structure fit and safe for use.

(4) Where compensation is payable by the Board to any person under this section—

(a) the amount thereof shall, in default of agreement, be determined by an arbitrator to be appointed by the Minister,

(b) the Minister shall, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, fix the remuneration of the said arbitrator and such remuneration shall be paid by the Board.

(5) The arbitrator appointed to determine the compensation payable by the Board to any person under this section may having regard (amongst other matters) to any unconditional offer of compensation made by the Board and not accepted by that person or to any unconditional offer by that person, to accept a certain sum as compensation and not accepted by the Board by his award and at his discretion—

(a) direct the Board to pay a sum (to be measured by the arbitrator) towards the costs and expenses of that person, or

(b) direct that person to pay a sum (to be measured by the arbitrator) towards the costs and expenses of the Board, or

(c) direct the Board and that person respectively to abide their own costs and expenses.

(6) The Abandonment of Railways Act, 1850 , shall not apply to any railway line in respect of which an abandonment order is made.

(7) Where an abandonment order has been made in respect of any railway line, the Board may sell the land under and adjoining such line either by private treaty to the owner of the land on both sides of such line or by public auction to any person, including such owner.

(8) The functions of a road authority under this section shall—

(a) in case the road authority is the corporation of a county borough, be a reserved function for the purposes of the enactments relating to that corporation,

(b) in any other case, be a reserved function for the purposes of the County Management Acts, 1940 and 1942.