The Railway Bridges (Load-Bearing Standards) (England and Wales) Order 1972

• Citation: S.I. 1972/1705
• Sections: 6

Section 1 Commencement and citation

This Order shall come into operation on 11th December 1972 and may be cited as the Railway Bridges (Load-Bearing Standards) (England and Wales) Order 1972.

Section 2 Interpretation

(1) In this Order, unless the context otherwise requires:—

“ the Act ” means the Transport Act 1968;

“ the appropriate Minister ” means , in relation to England (excluding Monmouthshire), the Secretary of State for the Environment and in relation to Wales (including Monmouthshire), the Secretary of State for Wales;

“ existing ”, in relation to a railway bridge, means existing when this Order comes into operation;

“ new ”, in relation to a railway bridge, means constructed after this Order has come into operation (including constructed by way of reconstruction or replacement of a railway bridge in existence, whether or not such bridge is an existing railway bridge for the purposes of this Order);

“ principal road ” means a road which is classified by the appropriate Minister under section 27(2) of the Local Government Act 1966 as a principal road for the purposes of advances under section 235 of the Highways Act 1959;

“ railway ” includes a railway which has ceased to carry traffic and the site of a railway from which the track has been removed;

“ railway bridge ” means a bridge, or (in so far as section 117 of the Act applies thereto by virtue of section 122(1) thereof) a tunnel or other structure,—

which carries a road over any one or more of the following, that is to say,

a railway of the British Railways Board,

a railway of the London Transport Executive,

a railway of any subsidiary of either of those bodies,

any other installation or land used by either of those bodies or by any such subsidiary in connection with a railway or an inland waterway,

any installation or land used by the National Freight Corporation or by any subsidiary of that Corporation in connection with a railway, and

to which section 117 of the Act applies or will, on completion, apply,

(including any abutments or other parts of the bridge, tunnel or other structure and, if the body or subsidiary in question is responsible for the maintenance thereof, any embankment, retaining wall or other work or substance supporting or protecting the surface of the road carried by, or giving access to, the bridge, tunnel or other structure) ; and

“ road ” means a highway which is maintainable at the public expense (whether by virtue of section 116 of the Act or otherwise howsoever) and which has a made-up carriageway as defined in the Highways Act 1959 .

(2) References in this Order to the construction or reconstruction of a railway bridge at a particular time, or in relation to a particular date, are (except in paragraph (5) below) references to the completion of the construction or reconstruction (as the case may be).

(3) Where a railway bridge consists of more than one separately supported span, each span, together with its supports and its superstructure, shall for the purposes of this Order be treated as a separate railway bridge.

(4) Where it is necessary to determine for the purpose of any provision of this Order (other than paragraph (4) of Article 3) whether a bridge, tunnel or other structure is an existing or a new railway bridge and that determination depends on whether the way carried thereby is a road, regard shall be had to the position current as respects that way—

(a) when this Order comes into operation, in the case of an existing railway bridge, and

(b) when the bridge, tunnel or other structure is constructed or reconstructed, in the case of a new railway bridge.

(5) References in this Order to a road carried by a railway bridge as being classified, or not classified, in any particular class or category, are references:—

(a) where the bridge is an existing railway bridge, to the position as respects the classification of that road current when this Order comes into operation, and

(b) where the bridge is a new railway bridge, to the position as respects the classification of that road current when the construction or reconstruction (as the case may be) of the bridge is undertaken.

(6) References in this Order to any enactment are references to that enactment as amended by or under any subsequent enactment.

(7) The Interpretation Act 1889 shall apply for the interpretation of this Order as it applies for the interpretation of an Act of Parliament.

Section 3 Load-bearing standards for existing railway bridges

(1) Subject to the provisions of this Order, the load-bearing standards for existing railway bridges shall be as follows:—

(a) where the bridge was constructed or last reconstructed on or after 1st January 1962 and the bridge is not one of those listed in Schedule 2 to this Order, the standard which would be applicable to it under Article 4 of this Order if it were a new railway bridge the construction of which was undertaken immediately after this Order has come into operation;

(b) where either:—

(i) the bridge is one of the bridges listed in Schedule 2 to this Order, or

(ii) the bridge was constructed or last reconstructed on or after 1st January 1955, but before 1st January 1962, and paragraph (a) above does not apply to it,

the standard specified in Part II of Schedule 1 to this Order;

(c) where the bridge was constructed or last reconstructed before 1st January 1955 and neither paragraph (a) nor paragraph (b) above applies to it, the standard specified in Part I of Schedule 1 to this Order.

(2) The load-bearing standard prescribed by paragraph (1)(b) or (c) of this Article for an existing railway bridge shall only apply in relation to that bridge until it is reconstructed or replaced and shall not apply for determining the standard to be complied with by the bridge as reconstructed or by the bridge which takes its place.

(3) The foregoing provisions of this Article—

(a) shall not apply to any existing railway bridge where at the coming into operation of this Order there is in force in relation to the road carried by that bridge a prohibition under section 1, 6, 12 or 17 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1967 as respects the weight of the traffic using that road, and shall remain inapplicable to that bridge so long as such prohibition as respects weight of traffic remains in force (whether in the same or some altered form), and

(b) shall not apply to any of the existing railway bridges listed in Schedule 3 to this Order pending the placing on the road carried by that bridge of a prohibition under section 1, 6, 12 or 17 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1967 as respects the weight of the traffic using that road, and so long as such prohibition as respects weight of traffic remains in force (whether in its original or some altered form),

but when such prohibition expires or is revoked and is not immediately replaced by another prohibition under one of the said sections of the said Act as respects the weight of traffic, then, as from the date of such expiration or revocation, the foregoing provisions of this Article shall (subject to paragraph (4) of this Article) apply to that railway bridge.

(4) Nothing in paragraph (3) of this Article shall be taken as applying the provisions of paragraphs (1) and (2) of this Article to any railway bridge listed in Schedule 3 to this Order and asterisked in that Schedule (such marking in that Schedule indicating that doubts exist whether the way carried by that bridge is a highway) unless, when the prohibition mentioned in paragraph (3) of this Article expires or is revoked, the way carried by the bridge is then a road as defined in Article 2(1) of this Order.

Section 4 Load-bearing standards for new railway bridges

Subject to the provisions of this Order, the load-bearing standards for new railway bridges shall be as follows:—

(a) where the road carried by the bridge is a principal road and is also specially classified by the appropriate Minister under section 27(2) of the Local Government Act 1966 as a 45 HB unit road for the purposes of this Order, the standard specified in Part IV of Schedule 1 to this Order;

(b) where the road carried by the bridge is a principal road but does not fall within paragraph (a) above, the standard specified in Part III of Schedule 1 to this Order;

(c) where the road carried by the bridge is not a principal road, the standard specified in Part II of Schedule 1 to this Order.

Section 5 Continuance of load-bearing standards

Where, by virtue of Article 3 or 4 of this Order, a load-bearing standard has been applied to an existing railway bridge, or to a new railway bridge on its construction, the standard shall continue to apply to the bridge until it is reconstructed or replaced, notwithstanding that the classification of the road carried by the bridge is thereafter altered or discontinued.

Section 6 Determination of disputes

If any question arises as to the requirements to be fulfilled by a particular railway bridge in order to comply with the relevant load-bearing standard prescribed by this Order (being a standard prescribed by reference to a document published by the British Standards Institution or by a Government department), the matter shall be determined, in the case of dispute, by a certificate of the appropriate Minister.