The Regulation of Railways Act 1868 is an Act of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

. It is one of the

Railway Regulation Acts 1840 to 1893 Railways Act (with its variations) is a stock short title used in India, Malaysia and the United Kingdom for legislation relating to railways. List India * The Indian Railways Act, 1890 * The Railways Act, 1989 Malaysia *The Railways Act 1991 *T ...

. It was enacted following the first murder on the railways, that of Thomas Briggs by

Franz Muller Franz may refer to: People * Franz (given name) * Franz (surname) Places * Franz (crater), a lunar crater * Franz, Ontario, a railway junction and unorganized town in Canada * Franz Lake, in the state of Washington, United States – see Fran ...

near Hackney in 1864. The Act made new provisions for: * ensuring a method was available for allowing passengers to communicate with the train's guard, if the train was scheduled to travel more than 20 miles without stopping; * establishing a fine for passengers raising the alarm without due cause (warnings of this fact still routinely appear near train emergency alarms); * removing trees near railway lines that might fall and block the train; * a penalty for

trespassing Trespass is an area of tort law broadly divided into three groups: trespass to the person, trespass to chattels, and trespass to land. Trespass to the person historically involved six separate trespasses: threats, assault, battery, wounding, ...

on the railway. Despite the legislation, it was not until 1899 that internal emergency wires came to be used on the majority of trains. The Act also made provision for the construction and working of a railway as a

light railway A light railway is a railway built at lower costs and to lower standards than typical "heavy rail": it uses lighter-weight track, and may have more steep gradients and tight curves to reduce civil engineering costs. These lighter standards allow ...

, 'subject to such conditions and regulations as the Board of Trade may from time to time impose or make'. Section 28 of the Act laid down maximum permitted axle weights and specified that 'the regulations respecting the speed of trains shall not authorize a rate of speed exceeding at any time twenty-five miles an hour'. The

Light Railways Act 1896 The Light Railways Act 1896 (59 & 60 Vict. c.48) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. History Before the Act each new railway line built in the country required a specific Act of Parliament to be ob ...

subsequently introduced more comprehensive legislation governing light railways.

References

Railway Acts United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1868 1868 in rail transport {{UK-rail-transport-stub pt:Regulation of Railways Act 1868