Railways Act, 1989 Chapter-I: Preliminary

 

THE RAILWAYS ACT, 1989: Chapter I – Section 1

The Gazette of India
Extraordinary
Part II – Section 1
Published by Authority
No.29 New Delhi Monday, June 5, 1989
MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE
(Legislative Department)

The following Act of Parliament received assent of the President on the 3rd June, 1989, and is hereby published for general information.

THE RAILWAYS ACT, 1989
No.24 of 1989
3rd June 1989

An Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to Railways.
Be it enacted by Parliament in the Fortieth Year of the Republic of India as follows:-

Chapter I
Preliminary

Short Title and Commencement
1. (1) This Act may be called the Railways Act, 1989.
(2) It shall come into force on such date 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.

THE RAILWAYS ACT, 1989: Chapter I – Section 2

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

(1) “Authorized” means authorized by railway administration;
(2) “Carriage” means the carriage of passengers or goods by a railway administration;
(3) “Claims Tribunal” means the Railway Claims Tribunal established under section 3 of the Railway Claims Tribunal Act, 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 rates 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” means goods entrusted to a railway administration for carriage;
(10) “Consignor” means the person, named in a railway receipt as consignor, by whom or on 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 signing 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) “Fare” 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 loading places of a ferry;
(16) “Forwarding note” means the document executed under section 64;
(17) “Freight” means the charge levied for the carriers of goods including transhipment 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 good 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 stock 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 the 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 charge 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 travelling with a valid pass or ticket;
(30) “Prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(31) “Railway” means a railway, or any portion of 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 purpose of, or in connection with, a railway;
(c) All electric traction equipments, power supply and distribution installations used for the purpose of, or in connection with, a railway;
(d) All rolling stock, stations, offices, warehouses, wharves, workshops, manufactories, fixed plant and machinery, roads and streets, running rooms, rest houses, institutes, hospitals, water works and water supply installation, 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 water for the purpose 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 lease 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 of 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 Railways” means a Zonal Railway constituted under section 3.