Railways Act 1905

Railways Act 1905 2020 REVISED EDITION This revised edition incorporates all amendments up to and including 1 December 2021 and comes into operation on 31 December 2021 An Act relating to railways. [1 March 1906] PART 1 PRELIMINARY Short title and application 1. This Act is the Railways Act 1905 and shall apply to all railways in Singapore, except a rapid transit system the construction and operation of which is subject to the Rapid Transit Systems Act 1995, and a cross‑border railway the construction and operation of which is subject to the Cross‑Border Railways Act 2018. [21/2018] Interpretation 2.—(1) In this Act and in any rules made thereunder, unless there is something repugnant in the subject or context — “assistant manager” means an assistant to the general manager or manager of a railway; “manager” means the person appointed by the Government or by the government of Malaysia, or by a railway company, as the case may be, to act as general manager or manager of a railway; “passengers’ luggage” means all such articles as a passenger takes with him for his personal use or convenience, according to the habits or wants of the class to which he belongs, with reference to either the immediate necessities or the ultimate purpose of the journey, but does not, except in the case of commercial travellers, include any articles carried for purposes of business, trade or profit; “railway” means a railway or any portion of a railway for the public carriage of passengers, animals or goods and includes — (a) all land within the fences or other boundary marks indicating the limits of the land appurtenant to a railway; (b) all lines of rails, sidings or branches worked over for the purposes of or in connection with a railway; (c) all stations, offices, warehouses, wharves, workshops, manufactories, fixed plant and machinery, and other works constructed for the purposes of or in connection with a railway; (d) all ferries, ships, boats and craft which are used for the traffic of a railway and belong to or are hired or worked by the authority administering the railway; (e) all engines, passenger coaches, and goods and livestock vehicles, or other rolling stock used for the purpose of carrying on the traffic of the railway; (f) all road vehicles used by or on behalf of or under contract with a railway administration for the conveyance of passengers, parcels, goods, livestock and vehicles; and (g) all aircraft used by or on behalf of or under contract with a railway administration for the conveyance of passengers, parcels, goods and livestock; “railway administration”, in the case of a railway administered by the Government or the government of Malaysia, means the manager and includes the Government and also, so long as the railway is in the course of construction, the resident engineer, and, in the case of a railway administered by a railway company, means the railway company; “railway company” includes any person or persons, whether incorporated or not, who are owners or lessees of a railway or parties to an agreement for working a railway, but shall not include the government of Malaysia; “railway employee” includes the manager, the assistant managers, and all such officers, employees, agents and other persons as are employed to do any act upon a railway; “railway official” includes all persons employed by or on behalf of the railway administration to perform any function in connection with a railway. Powers of assistant managers (2) All duties and powers hereinafter required to be performed and exercised by the manager shall and may be performed and exercised by an assistant manager. Sanction by President of railway construction 3.—(1) If the Government, or the government of Malaysia, or any company is desirous of constructing a railway within Singapore, it shall deposit with the Secretary to the Cabinet a scheme for such railway stating the general direction and terminal points of the proposed railway, accompanied by a map, and thereupon the President, after making such inquiries as he thinks fit, may reject or provisionally approve the scheme. (2) In case the President provisionally approves the scheme, sections 3 and 4 of the Land Acquisition Act 1966 shall be applicable to the lands likely to be needed for the purposes of such railway. Deposit and approval of plans, sections, etc. 4.—(1) After any railway has been provisionally approved under section 3, the Government or the railway company, as the case may be, shall deposit for public inspection in the office of the Chief Surveyor at Singapore — (a) plans and sections upon a scale of at least 1:3168, showing the lines and levels of such part of the proposed railway and the limits of deviation — (i) if any alteration is intended in the water level of any canal, or in the level or rate of inclination of any public carriage road or railway which will be crossed by the railway, then the same shall be stated on the section, and each alteration shall be numbered, and cross‑sections in reference to the numbers on a horizontal scale of not less than 1:2400, and on a vertical scale of not less than 1:240, shall be added, which shall show the present surface of such road, canal or railway and the intended surface thereof, when altered; and the greatest of the present and intended rates of inclination of the portion of such road or railway intended to be altered shall also be marked in figures thereon, and where any public carriage road is crossed on the level a cross-section of that road shall also be added, and all such cross-sections shall extend for 183 metres on each side of the centre line of the railway; (ii) wherever the line of the railway is intended to cross any public carriage road, navigable river, canal or railway, the height of the railway over or depth under the surface thereof and the height and span of every arch of all bridges and viaducts by which the railway will be carried over the same shall be marked in figures at every crossing thereof, and where the railway will be carried across any such public carriage road or railway on the level thereof, such crossing shall be so described on the section, and it shall also be stated if such level will be unaltered; (iii) if it is intended to divert, widen or narrow any public carriage road, navigable river, canal or railway, the course of the diversion and the extent of the widening or narrowing shall be marked on the plan; (iv) if it is intended to lay any part of the railway along a road or street, the plan shall show at what distance from an imaginary line drawn along the centre of that road or street it is proposed to lay the rails, and the widths of that road or street shall at all material points be clearly marked in figures on the plan; (b) a book of reference containing the names of the owners and lessees or reputed owners and lessees of the lands required or which may be taken for the purposes of this Act in respect of such part. (2) Notice shall be given of the deposit of such plans and books of reference by advertisement in the Gazette and in not less than 2 local newspapers, calling on all persons having any objection to the plans and books of reference to send in a statement of their objection in writing to a Collector of Land Revenue within 3 months from the date of the notice. (3) Such notice shall be published in at least 3 successive issues of the Gazette and of the local newspapers. (4) At the expiration of the period of 3 months the plans and sections referred to in subsection (1) shall be presented to Parliament, together with the objections thereto, and shall be considered and approved or amended by Parliament in Committee. (5) The plans and sections, if approved or amended by Parliament, shall be deemed to be the deposited plans referred to in this Act. Railway to be made according to plans 5.—(1) Any railway constructed under this Act shall be made and maintained in the lines and according to the levels shown on the deposited plans and sections, with all proper bridges, viaducts, stations, sidings, approaches, junctions, roads, buildings, yards, works and conveniences connected therewith and incidental thereto. Deviation (2) The railway administration may deviate from the line of railway shown on the deposited plans, provided that no such deviation shall extend beyond the limits of deviation shown on the plans. Private land may be acquired for railway 6.—(1) Such of the lands shown on such plans and book of reference as are required for the purposes of such railway shall be deemed to be land required for a public purpose within the meaning of the Land Acquisition Act 1966. (2) Proceedings under the Land Acquisition Act 1966 shall be taken separately in respect of each holding mentioned in the book of reference.