Victorian Consolidated Legislation

Transport Act 1983 - SECT 10

Priority of passenger services

10. Priority of passenger services



(1) If-

   (a)  an agreement relating to the provision or operation of passenger
        services entered into between the Director on behalf of the Crown and
        a train operator provides for the Director to require or approve a
        change in the timetable for a passenger service provided by the train
        operator; and

   (b)  in accordance with that agreement the Director requires or approves a
        timetable change; and

   (c)  in order to provide the passenger service to which the timetable
        change relates, the train operator requires use of rail transport
        services or declared rail transport services; and

   (d)  the train operator is-

   (i)  a party to an agreement relating to the provision of those rail
        transport services or declared rail transport services; or

   (ia) an access provider bound by a binding access arrangement relating to
        the provision of those rail transport services or declared rail
        transport services; or

   (ii) an access provider bound by a dispute resolution decision relating to
        the provision of those rail transport services or declared rail
        transport services- then-

   (e)  the person that is the operator for the purposes of Part 2A of the
        Rail Corporations Act 1996 of the rail infrastructure used to provide
        those rail transport services or declared rail transport services (in
        this section referred to as the rail infrastructure operator) must
        provide the train operator with such services as are necessary to
        enable the train operator to provide the passenger service in
        accordance with the timetable change; or

   (f)  if the train operator and the rail infrastructure operator are the
        same person, the train operator may use those services to the extent
        necessary to enable the train operator to provide the passenger
        service in accordance with the timetable change.

(2) Subsection (1) applies even if the use by the train operator of the rail
transport services and declared rail transport services may-

   (a)  interfere with an existing use by the rail infrastructure operator of
        the rail transport services or declared rail transport services for
        the provision by that operator of a rail transport service other than
        a passenger service or a service that is predominantly a passenger
        service (in this section referred to as a non-passenger service); or

   (b)  interfere with an existing right of another person to use the rail
        transport services or declared rail transport services (as the case
        may be) to provide a non-passenger service.

(3) Subsection (1) is subject to-

   (a)  any existing use by the rail infrastructure operator of the rail
        transport services or declared rail transport services for the
        provision of, or predominantly for the provision of, a passenger
        service by that operator; or

   (b)  any existing right of a train operator to use the rail transport
        services or declared rail transport services for the provision of, or
        predominantly for the provision of, a passenger service.

(4) Nothing in subsection (2) or (3) affects any provision of an agreement or
a dispute resolution decision referred to in subsection (1)(d) relating to a
right to use rail transport services or declared rail transport services
referred to in subsection (2)(b) or (3)(b) which specifies the respective
rights or obligations of-

   (a)  in the case of an agreement, binding access arrangement, the parties
        to the agreement; or



   (ab) in the case of a binding access arrangement, the access provider and
        any access seeker; or





   (b)  in the case of a dispute resolution decision, the parties bound by
        that decision-

as a result of-

   (c)  any interference with an existing use or right arising from the
        operation of this section; or

   (d)  the Director requiring or approving a timetable change in accordance
        with an agreement referred to in subsection (1)(a).

(5) Subject to the terms of any agreement, binding access agreement, or a
dispute resolution decision relating to a right referred to in subsection
(2)(b), if the operation of this section interferes with that right, the rail
infrastructure operator must use all reasonable endeavours to provide
alternative rail transport services or declared rail transport services (as
the case requires) to the person whose right to use those services is
interfered with so as to minimise that interference.

(6) In deciding whether to require or approve a timetable change in accordance
with an agreement referred to in subsection (1)(a), the Director must have
regard to the objective of ensuring that the provision of a passenger service
has priority over any non-passenger service unless, in the particular
circumstances, the interference with a non-passenger service resulting from
according that priority would in the opinion of the Director be serious and
unreasonable.

(7) In this section access provider, access seeker, binding access
arrangement, dispute resolution decision, rail transport service and declared
rail transport service have the meanings given to them under section 38A of
the Rail Corporations Act 1996.