Clause 22
Crossrail Bill
2:30 pm
Stephen Hammond (Shadow Minister, Transport; Wimbledon, Conservative)
I beg to move amendment No. 38, in clause 22, page 14, line 12, at end insert
‘with the exception of any trains used to transport construction material to sites being used in connection with the scheduled works.’.
We come to a series of clauses that look at railways matters. A number of them concern the obligations of the Office of Rail Regulation and the Secretary of State with regard to the railway assets. The Railways Act 1993 obliges the operators of railway assets to obtain a licence from the Secretary of State, or from the regulator with the consent of the Secretary of State, to operate such assets as train stations, networks or light maintenance depots. Under clause 7 of the 1993 Act, the Secretary of State may grant an exemption from that requirement to be authorised by licence provided that he has consulted with the regulator.
The clause provides that operators of Crossrail-related railway assets will need neither a licence nor a licence exemption during the Crossrail construction period, yet there is the possibility that trains will move construction material and personnel to sites. The Committee will want to understand why the additional power is necessary, given that the Secretary of State already has the power by virtue of the 1993 Act to grant exemptions to operators from the requirement to have a licence. It appears that the only difference being created here is the removal of the obligation from the Secretary of State to consult with the rail regulator before granting such an exemption. I look forward to the Minister’s clarification of whether that is the intent of the clause.
That is the general point relating to the motive behind the clause as a whole. My amendment is slightly more particular. It relates to construction materials being used in the building of Crossrail. If such materials and such personnel are to be transported by rail, I see no reason why the operators of the trains and the related infrastructure—the railway assets—should be excused from the need to have a licence validated by the ORR.
That licensing regime ensures that certain minimum standards are met in terms of efficiency, the environment and most particularly, safety. It is a key regulatory requirement and one that I would be wary of seeing sidestepped for any railway asset, particularly where construction workers may be involved. I look forward to the Minister’s reassurance that those powers are necessary.