THE RAILWAYS ACT,1989

Year : 1989

CHAPTER I-PRELIMINARY

1. Short title and commencement.- (1) This Act may be called the Railways Act, 1989.

(2) It shall come into force on such date [1] as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint:

Provided that different dates may be appointed for different provisions of this Act, and any reference in any such provision to the commencement of this Act shall be construed as a reference to the coming into force of that provision.

2. Definitions.- In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-

(1) authorized means authorized by a railway adminstration;

(2) carriage means the carriage of passengers of goods by a railway administration;

(3) Claims Tribunal means the railway Claims Tribunal established under section 3 of the Railway Claims Tribunal Act, 1987 (54 of 1987)

(4) classification means the classification of commodities made under section 31 for the purpose of determining the rates to be charged for carriage of such commodities;

(5) Class rates means the rate fixed for a class of commodity in the classification;

(6) Commissioner means the Chief Commissioner of Railway Safety or the Commissioner of Railway Safety appointed under section 5;

(7) Commodity means a specific item of goods;

(8) consignee means the person named as consignee in a railway receipt;

(9) consignment mean goods entrusted to a railway administration for carriage;

(10) consignor means the person named in a railway receipt as consignor, by whom or non whose behalf goods covered by the railway receipt are entrusted to a railway administration for carriage;

(11) demurrage means the charge levied for the detention of any rolling stock after the expiry of free time, if any, allowed for such detention;

(12) endorsee means the person in whose favour an endorsement is made, and in the case of successive endorsements, the person in whose favour the last endorsement is made;

(13) endorsement means the singing by the consignee or the endorsee after adding a direction on a railway receipt to pass the property in the goods mentioned in such receipt to a specified person;

(14) ferry means the charge levied for the carriage of passengers;

(15) ferry includes a bridge of boats, pontoons or rafts, a swing bridge, a fly-bridge and a temporary bridge and the approaches to, and landing places of , a ferry;

(16) forwarding note means the document executed under section 64;

(17) freight means the charge levied for the carriage of goods including transshipment charges, if any;

(18) General Manager means the General Manager of a Zonal Railway appointed under section 4;

(19) goods includes-

(i) containers, pallets or similar articles of transport used to consolidate goods; and

(ii) animals;

(20) Government railway means a railway owned by the central Government;

(21) in transit , in relation to the carriage of goods by railway, means the period between the commencement and the termination of transit of such goods, and unless otherwise previously determined-

(a) transit commences as soon as the railway receipt is issued or the consignment is loaded, whichever is earlier;

(b) transit terminates on the expiry of the free time allowed for unloading of consignment from any rolling stick and where such unloading has been completed within such free time, transit terminates on the expiry of the free time allowed, for the removal of the goods from the railway premises;

(22) level crossing means an inter-section of a road with lines of rails at the same level;

(23) luggage means the goods of a passenger either carried by him in his chafge or entrusted to a railway administration for carriage;

(24) lump sum rate means the rate mutually agreed upon between a railway administration and a consignor for the carriage of goods and for any service in relation to such carriage;

(25) non-Government railway means a railway other than a Government railway;

(26) notification means a notification published in the Official Gazette;

(27) parcel means goods entrusted to a railway administration for carriage by a passenger or a parcel train;

(28) pass means an authority given by the Central Government or a railway administration to a person allowing him to travel as a passenger, but does not include a ticket;

(29) passenger means a person traveling with a valid pass or ticket;

(30) prescribed means prescribed by rules made under this Act;

(31) railway means a railway, or any portion or a railway, for the public carriage of passengers or goods, and includes-

(a) all lands within the fences or other boundary marks indicating the limits of the land appurtenant to a railway;

(b) all lines of rails, sidings, or yards, or branches used for the purposes of, or in connection with, a railway;

(c) all electric traction equipments, power supply and distribution installations used for the purposes of, or in connection with, a railway;

(d) all rolling stock, stations, officers warehoused, wharves, workshops, manufactories, fixed plant and machinery, road and streets, running rooms, rest housed, institutes, hospitals, water works and water supply installations staff dwellings and any other works constructed for the purpose of, or in connection with, railway;

(e) all vehicles which are used on any road for the purposes of traffic of a railway and owned, hired or worked by a railway; and

(f) all ferries, ships, boats and rafts which are used on any canal, river, lake or other navigable inland waters for the purposes of the traffic of a railway and owned, hired or worked by a railway administration,

but does not include-

(i) a tramway wholly within a municipal area; and

(ii) lines of rails built in any exhibition ground, fair, park or any other place solely for the purpose of recreation;

(32) $railway administration, in relation to-

(a) a Government railway, means the General Manager of a Zonal Railway; and

(b) a non-Government railway , means the person who is the owner or lessee of the railway or the person working the railway under an agreement;

(33) railway receipt means the receipt issued under section 65;

(34) railway servant means any person employed by the Central Government or by a railway administration in connection with the service or a railway;

(35) rate includes any fare, freight or any other charge for the carriage of any passenger or goods;

(36) regulations means the regulations made by the Railway rates Tribunal under this Act;

(37) rolling stock includes locomotives, lenders, carriages, wagons, rail-cars, containers, trucks, trolleys and vehicles of all kinds moving on rails;

(38) station to station rate means a special reduced rate applicable to a specific commodity booked between specified stations;

(39) traffic includes rolling stock of every description, as well as passengers and goods;

(40) Tribunal means the Railway Rates Tribunal constituted under section 33;

(41) wharfage means the charge levied on goods for not removing them from the railway after the expiry of the free time for such removal;

(42) Zonal Railway means a Zonal Railway constituted under section 3.