Railways Act

This section says the Act may be cited as the Railways Act and applies to all railways in Malawi.

This section defines key railway terms and says an assistant manager may perform the Manager’s duties and powers.

A company that wants to build a railway in Malawi must file a scheme with the Ministry of Transport and Communications, and the Minister may reject or provisionally approve it.

Before a railway project proceeds, the Government or Railway Company must deposit plans, sections, and a Book of Reference for public inspection, publish notice in the Gazette, and the Minister then considers objections and may approve or amend them.

Railways built under this Act must follow the deposited plans and levels, and the railway administration may deviate only within the limits shown on those plans.

The railway administration may carry out a wide range of works needed to build, maintain, alter, repair, and use the railway, but its powers are subject to the Minister’s control and relevant contracts.

The Minister may allow a railway administration to enter adjoining land to repair or prevent an accident, and in urgent necessity the railway administration may enter without prior ministerial approval.

A railway administration must avoid causing unnecessary damage when using powers under sections 7 and 8, and compensation must be paid for damage caused.

The Act does not stop the Government or the company from buying land for a railway by agreement with the landowners, or from agreeing the compensation payable for land affected by the Act’s powers.

Railway administrations must make and maintain accommodation works for adjoining landowners and occupiers when the Minister considers them necessary, subject to stated limits and exceptions.

An owner, occupier, or local authority may require the railway administration to make further accommodation works, but the requester must pay for them and the works must be agreed by the railway administration or authorized by the Minister if there is disagreement.

The Minister may require the railway administration to build, renew, or staff safety works at railway crossings and nearby roads, and failure to comply can trigger a daily forfeiture of K20.

The railway administration may remove or deal with dangerous or obstructing trees near a railway, usually with a district magistrate’s permission, but can act without permission in an emergency.

A railway administration may use locomotives or other motive power and rolling stock with the Minister’s previous sanction, and rolling stock cannot be moved by steam or other motive power until the necessary General Rules are made, sanctioned, and published.

A railway administration must give the Minister written notice at least one month before opening a railway for public passenger carriage, unless the Minister reduces or dispenses with the notice period.

A railway cannot be opened for passenger carriage until the Minister sanctions the opening; temporary opening also needs an engineer’s certificate.

After a traffic suspension caused by an accident, the restored line or temporary diversion may be reopened for passengers only if a railway servant in charge certifies in writing that it is safe and notice is sent by telegraph to the Minister.

After a railway is opened, the railway and its rolling stock must be inspected by an engineer appointed by the Minister, at intervals the Minister directs.

If an engineer thinks a railway or rolling stock is dangerous to the public, the engineer must tell the Minister the opinion and reasons, and the Minister may order closure, discontinuance, or conditional use for public safety.

A closed railway cannot be reopened for public passenger carriage until it has been inspected and its reopening sanctioned; discontinued rolling stock cannot be used again until the engineer reports it is fit for use and the Minister sanctions its use.

A Railway Company that contravenes Part II must forfeit £10 to Government for each day the contravention continues.

A railway administration must, within its powers, provide all reasonable facilities for receiving, forwarding, and delivering traffic on and from the railways it owns or operates.

A railway administration in the stated connection must give reasonable facilities to receive and forward traffic, without unreasonable delay or unfair preference.

A railway administration must not give unfair preference or disadvantage to particular people or traffic, and it may charge reasonable terminals.

A complaint about a railway administration’s breach of the prior sections may be referred by the Minister to the High Court, heard by a High Court judge, and appealed to the Supreme Court of Appeal.

If a railway administration charges lower rates to some traders or areas for similar animals, goods, or services, it must prove that the lower charge is not undue preference.

Railway companies must prepare and send return forms to the Minister, using Minister-approved forms and timing.

A railway administration may carry letters on railway service, including letters containing invoices or railway receipts for traders.

Railway administration rates to local authorities are capped by a Minister’s order, and the railway administration may contract with local authorities for water, light, scavenging, or similar services.

Actions and suits involving a railway administration may be brought by and against the Manager.

Certain railway property cannot be seized in execution, but a court may still attach a railway’s earnings.

Summonses, notices, orders, and similar documents may be served by leaving them with the Manager or Company, or by sending them by registered post to the Manager or Company at the railway administration’s principal office in Malawi.

The railway administration is generally not liable for loss or injury to goods carried by rail unless the loss was caused by negligence or misconduct by its agents or servants, and the goods were properly booked and paid for or delivery was accepted under the Act and rules.

A railway administration’s responsibility for certain animals is capped by species, unless higher value is declared; if higher value is declared, it may charge a percentage on the extra value.

A railway administration is not responsible for loss, destruction, or deterioration of a passenger’s luggage unless the luggage was delivered to a railway official.

Railway liability for certain valuable articles is capped at £10 unless the sender declares the value and contents and, if required, pays a percentage for increased risk.

In suits against a railway administration over loss, destruction, or deterioration of animals or goods, the plaintiff does not have to prove how the damage was caused, but the claimant must prove the value of the animals or goods and, if injured, the extent of the injury.

To claim compensation or an overcharge refund for railway-carried animals or goods, a written claim must be sent to the railway administration within the stated deadline.

A railway administration is not responsible for losses or damage to goods if it was given a materially false description and the loss was caused by that false description.

Railway administrations must report certain accidents to the Minister and nearby railway officials without unnecessary delay.

The Minister may make rules, as long as they are consistent with the Act, about accident notices and accident inquiries.

Every railway administration must send the Minister a return of accidents on its railway, whether or not anyone was injured.

A Railway Company must give accident notice required by section 42 and the Rules, or it forfeits £10 for each day the omission continues; a station master or railway servant who omits the notice may be fined up to £5.

A Railway Company that fails to comply with section 44 about submitting a return must forfeit £5 for each day the default continues after day 14 from the prescribed submission date.

A deciding court or other authorized person may order an injured railway-accident claimant to be medically examined, by a named practitioner who is not a witness for either side.

The railway administration must make General Rules, subject to the Minister’s approval, and keep a copy at each station for inspection. The Rules may also set a £5 fine for breaches, and a railway company that fails to make them can forfeit £2 per day.

If railway administrations cannot agree on safe joint-traffic arrangements, the Minister may decide the dispute and allocate the related expenses.

Railway wagons and trucks must have their maximum load determined and displayed, and they must not exceed the approved axle-load limit.

Railway administrations must set a maximum passenger number for each compartment, with the Minister’s approval, and display that number conspicuously. A railway company that breaches the section forfeits £2 for each day of contravention.

The Manager may discipline railway officials, but only with the Minister’s approval and subject to rules the Minister makes and publishes; the section does not apply to officials earning £100 a year or more.

Passengers must pay their fare and get a ticket before boarding, and must show or hand over the ticket when railway officials require it.

Rail fare or freight is accepted only if there is room on the train. If space is limited, passengers and goods are prioritized by ticket distance and ticket order, with government officers, troops on duty, and others traveling on government business getting priority.

A person who commits fare evasion or related fraud against a railway administration is liable to a £2 fine for each offence.

A passenger must not get on, off, or ride on a railway carriage while it is moving, or ride on the steps or other non-passenger parts of a carriage.

Most people may not ride, or try to ride, on a locomotive, tender, luggage van, goods wagon, or similar non-passenger vehicle unless they have the specified licence or permission.

People must not smoke, chew betel-like substances, or spit in waiting rooms or certain railway carriages; offenders can be fined £1 and may lose their fare if they keep offending after warning.

People may be fined, imprisoned, removed, and made to forfeit their fare if they are intoxicated, indecently clothed, causing nuisance or indecency, or interfering with passenger comfort on a railway.

Railway officials may direct passengers to travel in a specified carriage or compartment, so long as it is not a lower class than the fare paid.

A person who enters or stays in certain reserved railway spaces without lawful excuse can be removed, fined £5, and lose the fare paid.

The Manager may detain and sell goods to recover unpaid railway carriage charges or passenger fares.

On demand by a railway official, the owner or caretaker of certain goods must give a signed written account of the goods.

A person who must provide a railway account on demand and instead fails to do so or gives a false account can be fined.

People must not carry dangerous articles on a railway, and railway officials may refuse, inspect, or stop luggage or parcels suspected to be dangerous.

People who knowingly have leprosy, smallpox, or another contagious or infectious disease must not travel by railway unless allowed by rules made under the Act.

A person who trespasses on railway property is liable to a £1 fine, and if they refuse to leave after a railway official asks them to, the fine is £2 and they may be immediately removed.

A person must not ride, lead, or drive an animal on or across a railway unless directly crossing at an appointed place at a lawful time; each offence carries a £2 fine.

A person who wilfully alters or defaces a pass or ticket so that required details become illegible is liable to a £5 fine.

A person who wilfully obstructs or impedes a railway servant while the servant is doing their duty can be fined £10.

The Minister may, by Gazette notice, declare a road or path crossed by a railway to be an occupation crossing, and occupation crossings must be used under rules made and published by the Minister.

Animal owners are liable for a 10s fine per animal if the animal trespasses on fenced railway land; railway officials may detain, and in some cases kill, the animal, and a magistrate may order sale by auction.

A person who unlawfully and wilfully interferes with railway plates, lamps, signals, or railway property, or who wilfully or negligently damages railway property, is liable to a £10 fine and two months’ imprisonment.

A person using a railway gate or chain must not open it, cross while a train or engine is in sight, or leave it unfastened after passing through; breaking the rule can lead to a £5 fine.

A person must not maliciously interfere with railway tracks, signals, machinery, engines, carriages, or items on a railway in a way that obstructs rail traffic or endangers passengers.

A person who willfully does an act, or willfully fails to do a legal duty, and thereby endangers railway passengers, can be imprisoned for two years.

A railway official who is intoxicated while on duty, or who negligently fails to do duty or does it improperly, faces summary conviction and penalties.

A person who rashly or negligently, without lawful excuse, does something likely to endanger safety on a railway may be fined £50 and imprisoned for six months.

A person must not, without authority, stop or try to stop a moving engine, tender, carriage, or truck by any signal or other means.

A person who wilfully breaks or ignores Rules made under this Act, where those Rules do not already provide a special penalty, is liable to a fine of £1.

People guilty of an offence under the Act may be apprehended without a warrant by a railway official, a person called to assist that official, or a police officer, and the arrested person must be taken before a magistrate promptly.

A police officer who needs to arrest a railway servant must first apply to the railway’s department head or the local railway official in charge, and the arrest must wait until the servant is relieved if immediate arrest would be unsafe or seriously inconvenient.

Every railway official must do what is necessary for public safety and must not do acts likely to cause danger.

After a conviction under the Act, the magistrate may order the offender to pay the conviction costs, and the costs may be assessed and recovered like a penalty.

If someone owes money, damages, or expenses under this Act, they can be recovered like penalties; the magistrate may also fix the amount if needed.

Actions and prosecutions under this Act must be started within three months after the complained-of event.

A passenger who does not produce or hand over a ticket may have the fare enforced as if it were a fine under the Act.

Railway companies must display the Act, relevant rules and schedules at stations, and may also have to display them in additional languages directed by the Minister.

A person who wilfully or maliciously removes, defaces, or injures certain railway documents or notices commits an offence and is liable to a £2 fine and one month’s imprisonment.