100Improvement notices

100 Improvement notices

(1) A rail safety officer may serve an improvement notice on a person if the officer believes on reasonable grounds that the person— (a) is contravening a provision of a rail safety law; or (b) has contravened a provision of a rail safety law and it is likely that the contravention will continue or be repeated; or (c) is carrying out or has carried out railway operations that threaten safety. (2) The rail safety officer may serve on a person an improvement notice requiring the person, within the period specified in the notice— (a) to undertake remedial rail safety work or do any other thing to remedy the contravention or likely contravention, or the matters or activities occasioning the contravention or likely contravention; or (b) to carry out railway operations so that safety is not threatened or likely to be threatened. (3) The period within which a person is required by the improvement notice to comply with the notice must be at least 7 days after service of the notice. (4) An improvement notice must— (a) state the reasons for the service of the notice; and (b) in the case of an improvement notice served in respect of a contravention or likely contravention of a rail safety law, specify the provision of the rail safety law in respect of which that belief is held; and (c) in the case of an improvement notice served on a person who is carrying out or has carried out railway operations that threaten safety, specify the operations in respect of which that belief is held; and (d) include information about the right to a review under Part 6 of the decision to serve the notice; and (e) set out the penalty for contravening the notice; and (f) include a statement of the effect of section 103 (proceedings for offences not affected by improvement notices); and (g) state that it is served under this section. (5) An improvement notice served on a person on a ground stated in sub‑section (1)(a) or (b)— (a) may specify a method by which the alleged contravention or likely contravention, or the matters or activities occasioning the alleged contravention or likely contravention are to be remedied; and (b) may offer the person on whom the notice has been served a choice of ways by which an alleged contravention or likely contravention, or the matters or activities occasioning the alleged contravention or likely contravention may be remedied; and (c) may specify that a person provide the Rail Safety Regulator with a program of rail safety work that the person proposes to carry out to remedy the alleged contravention or likely contravention, or the matters or activities occasioning the alleged contravention or likely contravention. (6) An improvement notice served on a person on the ground stated in sub‑section (1)(c)— (a) may specify a method by which railway operations may be carried out so that safety is not threatened or likely to be threatened; and (b) may offer the person on whom the notice has been served a choice of ways by which railway operations may be carried out so that safety is not threatened or likely to be threatened; (c) may specify that the person provide the Rail Safety Regulator with a program of railway operations that the person proposes to carry out to remedy the threat or likely threat to the safety. (7) A program referred to in sub‑section (5)(c) or (6)(c) may include a timetable for the completion of the program of rail safety work.