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  5. 2001 An Overview: Railway Safety Act

2001 An Overview: Railway Safety Act

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Table of Contents

Part I: Construction or Alteration of Railway Works

Part II: Operation and Maintenance of Railway Works and Equipment

Part III: Non-Railway Operations Affecting Rail Safety

Part IV: Administration and Enforcement

Part V: Miscellaneous Provisions

Part VI: Consequential Amendments to Other Acts



Preface

This overview of the Railway Safety Act is intended to provide the transportation industry, provinces, municipalities and other interested groups with general guidelines on the implementation of this Act in the areas of railway safety, security and the environment. The information provided here is not a complete statement of the Railway Safety Act, neither does it waive or modify any legal obligation under the Act. As the regulator, Transport Canada continues to play the lead role in overseeing safety in the rail transportation industry.

To this end, our stated mission is to further advance the safety and security of an efficient, accessible and sustainable rail transportation system through:

  • awareness and education
  • establishment and implementation of policies, legislation and standards
  • monitoring and enforcement

This overview is in keeping with Transport Canada's concerted effort to increase the use of "plain language" material in support of our policies and legislation. A copy of the RAILWAY SAFETY ACT in its entirety can be found on Transport Canada's website at: http://www.tc.gc.ca/acts-regulations/acts/1985s4-32/menu.htm. If you have additional questions, please write or call one of the contacts listed at the end of this booklet.

Introduction

Objectives:

The objectives of this booklet are to describe the fundamental principles of railway safety in Canada; to explain the specific details of the RAILWAY SAFETY ACT1 (RSA); and to provide general guidance to the rail transportation industry and other interested groups.

Background:

For many years, the safety of Canada's federal railways was regulated under the RAILWAY ACT. This Act was designed for another era, having originated at the turn of the century when Canada's railway system was rapidly expanding. At that time, much of the system was under construction to open up new territory and to encourage settlement. Small companies without adequate financial reserves built railway lines, with uncertain revenue prospects. There was a strong temptation to cut corners on construction and operating costs, and legislation was needed to allow the government of the day to closely control these activities, for the protection of the public and railway employees.

The RSA came into force in 1989 to address the many changes that had taken place in the rail transportation industry in recent years. It was designed to achieve the objectives of the national transportation policy relating to the safety of railway operations. The RSA gave direct jurisdiction over safety matters to the Minister of Transport, to be administered by Transport Canada, where responsibility for other federally regulated modes resides (i.e., air, road and marine modes).

With the introduction of the new CANADA TRANSPORTATION ACT in 1996, the railway industry began to accelerate its significant re-structuring process. In focusing more on their core railway infrastructure, both national carriers have transferred thousands of kilometres of track to short line operators. Many of these transferred railways now fall under the jurisdiction of the provinces in which they exclusively operate. In some provinces, Transport Canada monitors the safety of these provincial railways under contract as a result of federal-provincial agreements.

The 1999 amendments to the RSA have been made to further improve the legislation and to make the railway system even safer. These amendments are designed to fully modernize the legislative and regulatory framework of Canada's rail transportation system. Railways are more responsible for managing their operations safely, while the general public and interested parties have a greater say on issues of rail safety.

Related Legislation:

With the overhaul of rail transportation legislation over the last decade, legislation now exists for the following purposes:

  • to provide the railway industry with greater freedom to act in the area of economic regulation
  • to simplify, update, and improve safety regulation
  • to establish an independent accident investigation agency for all federally regulated modes

The following is a brief summary of related Acts.

CANADA TRANSPORTATION ACT

This Act deals with market-entry, rate-making, and other economic regulation. It was introduced to consolidate and revise the NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION ACT and the RAILWAY ACT, and replaced the National Transportation Agency with the present-day Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA).

The CTA is a quasi-judicial body reporting to Parliament through the Minister of Transport. The CTA has regulatory powers over economic matters and issues of public convenience and necessity.

CANADIAN TRANSPORTATION ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION AND SAFETY BOARD ACT

This Act, dealing with accident investigation, provides for a multimodal, independent board, known as the Transportation Safety Board, with the objective of advancing safety by:

  • conducting independent investigations, including, when necessary, public inquiries, into selected transportation occurrences in order to make findings as to their causes and contributing factors; identifying safety deficiencies as evidenced by transportation occurrences
  • making recommendations designed to eliminate or reduce any such safety deficiencies
  • reporting publicly on its investigations and related findings

TRANSPORTATION OF DANGEROUS GOODS ACT

The purpose of this Act is to promote public safety in the transportation of dangerous goods by all modes of transport throughout Canada. It governs the means of containment, handling, offering for transport, and transporting of dangerous goods in Canada, and is administered by the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Directorate, Transport Canada.

NAVIGABLE WATERS PROTECTION ACT

The purpose of this Act is to protect the public rights of navigation on all the navigable waterways of Canada. The Act regulates the construction of works built or placed in, over, through, or across navigable waterways, and provides a legal framework to deal with obstacles and obstructions to navigation. The Act is administered by Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

RAILWAY RELOCATION AND CROSSING ACT

Part I of this Act, entitled "Joint Urban Development and Transportation Plans", is intended to facilitate the relocation of railway lines or re-routing of railway traffic in urban areas. Parts II and III of this Act have been repealed.

Overview

General:

The fundamental principles on which the regulation of railway safety in Canada is based, as stated in section 3 of the RSA, are as follows:

  • to promote and provide for the safety of the public and personnel, and the protection of property and the environment, in the operation of railways
  • to encourage the collaboration and participation of interested parties in improving railway safety
  • to recognize the responsibility of railway companies in ensuring the safety of their operations
  • to facilitate a modern, flexible and efficient regulatory scheme that will ensure the continuing enhancement of railway safety

The 1999 amendments to the RSA aim to help achieve these objectives by:

  • promoting and providing for the safety of the public and personnel, and the protection of property and the environment, in the operation of railways
  • providing authority to require railways to implement Safety Management Systems
  • providing greater involvement for interested organizations in rule-making
  • providing a safety framework for minimizing disruption caused by train whistles in communities
  • strengthening and clarifying federal powers at road-rail (grade) crossings
  • clarifying and strengthening the powers of Railway Safety Inspectors
  • streamlining the administrative process
  • providing environmental protection authority to regulate railway emissions
  • improving other miscellaneous items

The RSA and subsequent amendments were prepared in extensive consultation with interested parties and received broad support.

The RSA is divided into six major parts:



Notes:

1. Revised Statutes of Canada, 1985, Chapter 32 (4th Supplement)

Date modified:
2011-03-31