§ The Earl of Courtownasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they have any proposals to bring rail freight within the scope of the Rail Regulator. [HL119]
§ The Minister of State, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Lord Macdonald of Tradeston)Under the Railways Act 1993 the Rail Regulator has a duty to promote the use and development of the railway network for carriage of passengers and freight.
The Rail Regulator's statutory functions include the approval of agreements for access to track and rail facilities by operators of railway assets and the issue, modification and enforcement of licences to operate trains, network and light maintenance depots. These functions extend to the operators of freight services.