Regulation of Railways Act 1889


The Regulation of Railways Act 1889 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is one of the Railway Regulation Acts 1840 to 1893. It was enacted following the Armagh rail disaster.

Safety

It empowered the Board of Trade to require any railway company to:
Provision was made to enable the railway companies to issue debentures to pay for the capital cost of the equipment.
There were also provisions regarding reporting the number of persons in safety-related employment who worked more than a specified number of hours.

Tickets

The Act also requires passengers to show tickets and to pay a penalty if travelling without a ticket. It also gives powers to agents of the railway to request a name and address and to make it an offence not to provide these details when requested. Prosecutions are still brought under the Act today.