The Transport and Works Act 1992 (TWA) was established by 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 ...

to provide a system by which the construction of

rail transport Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a p ...

, tramway,

inland waterway A body of water, such as a river, canal or lake, is navigable if it is deep, wide and calm enough for a water vessel (e.g. boats) to pass safely. Such a navigable water is called a ''waterway'', and is preferably with few obstructions against dir ...

and

harbour A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...

infrastructure could proceed in the UK by order of the

Secretary of State for Transport The Secretary of State for Transport, also referred to as the transport secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the policies of the Department for Transport. The incumbent i ...

rather than, as before, on the passing of a

private bill Proposed bills are often categorized into public bills and private bills. A public bill is a proposed law which would apply to everyone within its jurisdiction. This is unlike a private bill which is a proposal for a law affecting only a single p ...

.Transport and Works Act 1992 Standard Note
-

House of Commons Library The House of Commons Library is the library and information resource of the lower house of the British Parliament. It was established in 1818, although its original 1828 construction was destroyed during the burning of Parliament in 1834. Th ...

14 April 2010 Permissions granted under the TWA are issued in the form of a Transport and Works Act Order, often abbreviated to TWAO.

Background

The TWA was introduced as a response to criticism by members of Parliament of the private-bill-based approach to the approval of transport infrastructure projects in the UK. Private bills were, from the nineteenth century onwards, the only way to gain authorisation for such infrastructure. However, work associated with the drafting and sponsorship of such bills was viewed by a Joint Committee on Private Bill Procedure, set up in 1987, as unduly onerous for parliamentary representatives. The provisions of the TWA mirrored and augmented the development of the UK planning system in the twentieth century, which provided an alternative route for authorisation of certain planning matters.

References

External links

*
Transport and Works Act 1992 Standard Note
- House of Commons Library {{UK-statute-stub 1992 in law 1992 in transport Railway Acts Transport policy in the United Kingdom United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1992 History of transport in the United Kingdom Transport legislation