Tourist and Heritage Railways Act 2010

The broad purpose of the act is ". . . to promote the long term viability of the tourist and heritage railway sector and promote an improvement in the operations of that sector as part of an integrated and sustainable transport system . . ." The act establishes a regulatory scheme with the following key elements: • development of an asset register for tourist and heritage assets including state-owned assets • provision for new lease agreements for the state rail assets used by tourist and heritage operators • creation of a voluntary registration scheme • establishment of a Tourist and Heritage Railways Registrar and advisory committee. == Industry background ==

The Tourist and Heritage Railways Act and the background to its development and passage was summarised by Ian Shepherd, Kate Williams and Jenny Gabriele in an article in the Railway Gazette International. The authors noted that "With around 60 tourist and heritage railways or tramways, Australia has more lines per capita that Europe or the USA. A third of them are in Victoria, where Australia's railway preservation movement started with the formation of the Puffing Billy Preservation Society in 1955." As of 1 January 2011 there were around 22 organisations across the State although only 17 are expected to be subject to the new statute. The THR organisations operate in various locations across Victoria, primarily in regional areas. The railways attract tourism and provide economic benefits to the regional areas where they operate with an estimated half a million people visiting the railways each year. == Parts ==

face travelling westwards through Swan Bay saltmarsh on the Bellarine Railway. The Bellarine Railway is a volunteer-operated steam-driven tourist railway located in Victoria, Australia. It operates on a 16 km section of a formerly disused branch line on the Bellarine Peninsula between the coastal town of Queenscliff and Drysdale, near Geelong in regional Victoria. The act is divided into seven parts: • Preliminary • Administration • Tourist and Heritage Rail Asset Register • Lease Agreements • Voluntary Accreditation Scheme • General • Consequential Amendments and Savings == Coverage ==

) tourist railway located in the Thomson River and Stringers Creek valleys in Gippsland, Victoria, Australia, near the former gold-mining town and tourist destination of Walhalla. The group is also regulated by the Tourist and Heritage Railways Act. The act regulates the majority of the operational tourist and heritage railways in Victoria. To be covered by the act, a tourist and heritage railway operator must be a not for profit organisation that provides historical and heritage-related rail services mostly for tourists and mostly in Victoria. The following railways are covered by the act: • Alexandra Timber and Tramway Museum • Ballarat Tramway Museum • Bellarine Railway • Bendigo Tramways • Daylesford Spa Country Railway • DERMPAV (Diesel Electric Railmotor Preservation Association of Victoria) • Melbourne Tramcar Preservation Society • Mornington Railway Preservation Society • Portland Cable Tram • 707 Operations • Red Cliffs Steam Railway • Seymour Railway Heritage Centre • South Gippsland Railway • Steamrail Victoria • Victorian Goldfields Railway • Walhalla Goldfields Railway • Yarra Valley Railway. The Act does not apply to Victoria's most popular tourist and heritage railway, Puffing Billy. Instead, the Puffing Billy Railway is regulated by its own statute, the Emerald Tourist Railway Act 1977. The Tourist and Heritage Railways Act does also not extend to static rail exhibits such as the Williamstown Rail Museum. == Regulators ==

The prime regulator of the tourist and heritage railway sector in Victoria is the Director, Transport Safety or Transport Safety Victoria (TSV). The prime regulators of the tourist and heritage railway sector in Victoria are VicTrack and the Public Transport Development Authority (trading as Public Transport Victoria). VicTrack holds all State owned rail land, infrastructure and assets. VicTrack leases assets to tourist and heritage railway operators when they are not required for mainstream transport operations and therefore non operational. Public Transport Victoria provides general coordination and support to the THR sector and is a regulator under the act. VicTrack crosses Moorooduc Highway in February 2007 VicTrack is established under the Transport Integration Act and is required under that Act to ". . . provide or enable access to the non-operational transport-related land, infrastructure or assets where this supports the transport system . . . ". VicTrack is charged with considering providing this access for a variety of reasons including for ". . . tourist and heritage rail operations . . ." and ". . . through the granting of leases for business or community purposes . . . ". As part of this function, VicTrack is required to collaborate with the Secretary of the Department of Transport, or more particularly Public Transport Victoria, in protecting land, infrastructure and assets which are registered on the Victorian Heritage Register. VicTrack must do this ". . . whilst ensuring that reasonable access is provided for public enjoyment and historical appreciation and that support is provided to tourist and heritage operators . . . ". The registrar Part 2 of the act provides that the Director must appoint a person to be the Tourist and Heritage Railway Registrar. The registrar is the key administrator for the purposes of the act. The function of the registrar is to compile and maintain an asset register for the sector, a register of lease agreements granted by VicTrack and a group register for THR railway groups. Advisory committee steam locomotive No. 4 on The Bellarine Railway The act enables Public Transport Victoria to establish an advisory committee to provide advice to PTV on— • the voluntary registration scheme for T and H operators; and • other matters relating to the provision of historical and heritage related rail services. The number of members and the composition of the advisory committee is set out in regulations made under the act. == Rail asset register ==

Part 3 of the Tourist and Heritage Railways Act provides for establishment and operation of a tourist and heritage rail asset register. The broad purpose of the part is to gather and maintain accurate information about THR assets. The register is required to be established by Public Transport Victoria and divided into three divisions listing assets owned by the State, assets owned by custodians and assets owned by persons other than the state or the custodian which the owner has elected to include on the register. The remainder of the provisions regulate the information to be included in the register, the form of the register and access, currency and accuracy of information, inspection of assets and the relationship of the register to the separate Victorian Heritage Register established under the Heritage Act 1995. == Lease agreements ==

Part 4 of the Act sets out a scheme to facilitate the leasing of land and assets by VicTrack for tourist and heritage railways purposes. The Act provides power for VicTrack to grant leases of land which must include a range of matters including a description of the land and fixtures, the term of the lease, the amount of rent (if payable), maintenance and insurance arrangements, subleasing rights or restrictions, reclamation rights and other matters. Similar provision is made for the leasing of assets and these also require the lease to include certain minimum terms. The Part also imposes a duty on VicTrack to provide copies of leases to the Registrar who must keep a register of the agreements and details about duration and renewal. == Voluntary accreditation scheme ==

''' (operated by the Central Highlands Tourist Railway) is a volunteer-operated broad gauge tourist railway located in Victoria, Australia. It operates on a section of the formerly disused and dismantled Daylesford line. It presently operates between Daylesford and the hamlet of Bullarto. The picture shows railcar DRC40 in the yard at Daylesford. Part 5 of the Act provides for a voluntary accreditation scheme for tourist and heritage railway operators. Public Transport Victoria is required to establish the scheme and a register known as the Tourist and Heritage Railway Group Register. The purpose of the scheme is to enable operators which meet certain criteria to register in order to demonstrate their commitment to best business practice and continuous improvement and to access programs and initiatives made available under the scheme. The other provisions in the part regulate the matters to be recorded in the register, applications for registration, registration itself, changes of details, removal from the register and rights of review to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal concerning decisions made by the Registrar. == Other notable provisions ==

The Act contains two general provisions in Part 6. The first provision confirms that THR operators are not required to fence railways or contribute to fencing costs and that operators are not liable for any damage which may be caused by the railway not being fenced. The remaining and final provision in the Act confers power on the Governor in Council to make regulations to support the Act including in relation to the asset register, criteria for registration on the group register, fees for registration, safety in connection with TH railways, powers of THR operators, conduct requirements, trespassing and interference with equipment, fixtures and other things. == Development ==

Redhen railcar and goods rollingstock operated by the South Gippsland Railway at Leongatha station The development of the proposal for the Tourist and Heritage Railways Act was managed by the Department of Transport in Victoria as part of its Transport Legislation Review project. == Parliamentary approval ==

Introduction The Tourist and Heritage Railways Act was introduced into the upper house of the Victorian Parliament, the Legislative Council, as the Tourist and Heritage Railways Bill 2010. The responsible Minister for the proposal was the Minister for Public Transport, the Hon Martin Pakula MLC. The Hon Justin Madden MLC, the Minister for Planning, moved the second reading of the Bill on 27 July 2010 on behalf of the Public Transport Minister. Second reading speech ''' is a not-for-profit volunteer group established in 1965 to the restore and operate historic locomotives and rolling stock used on the railways in Victoria, Australia. The bill received royal assent on 19 October 2010 to become the Tourist and Heritage Railways Act 2010. Regulations The Tourist and Heritage Railways Act was proclaimed to commence on 1 October 2011. The Tourist and Heritage Railways Regulations 2011 were made to support the operation of the Act after being developed by the Department of Transport and commenced on the same day. They were released for public comment and then approved by the Minister and presented to the Governor in Council for making and commencement. == Safety regulation ==

Legislation The safety compliance of most rail transport in Victoria is regulated under the Rail Safety Act 2006. The main railways regulated include the Melbourne heavy rail system, the Melbourne tram and light rail network, Victoria's regional standard and broad gauge rail networks and regional tourist and heritage railways. Operators are subject to safety duties, a requirement to be accredited and a range of compliance sanctions. Railways excluded from coverage under the Act include railways in mines, amusement and theme park railways and slipways. Regulator The safety regulator for the application and enforcement of the Rail Safety Act 2006 and therefore the oversight of the safety performance of the tourist and heritage rail sector in Victoria is the Director, Transport Safety. The Director operates under the trading name, Transport Safety Victoria. The office of the Director is established under the Transport Integration Act 2010 and is independent of the Department of Transport and responsible Ministers except in limited circumstances. == See also ==