General Tramways Act 1884

This Act may be called the General Tramways Act 1884.

In the construction of this Act the following expressions, so far as the context and the subject-matter permit, shall have the meanings hereinafter assigned to them respectively, namely—

special Act shall mean any Act which shall hereafter be passed to authorise the construction of a tramway;

prescribed shall be equivalent to prescribed for that purpose in the special Act;

the promoters shall mean the parties authorised by the special Act to execute such works or undertakings;

The word road shall mean any carriageway being a public highway, and the carriageway of any bridge forming part of or leading to the same;

The words road authority shall include the municipal corporation or district council having authority in the place in question;

The word district, in connection with road authority, shall mean the area within which such road authority enjoys control over the roads;

owner, with reference to any notice required by this Act, or the special Act, or any Act incorporated therewith, to be given to the owner of any lands, or any consent to be obtained from the owner of any lands, shall mean any person or corporation who, under the provisions of this or the special Act, would be enabled to sell and convey lands to the promoters of the undertaking;

justices shall mean justices of the peace for the State who shall not be interested in the matter;

the bank shall mean the bank to be named in the special Act as the bank to which payments are to be made.

This Act shall apply to every tramway undertaking to be authorised by any Act which shall hereafter be passed; and all the clauses and provisions of this Act, save so far as they shall be expressly varied or excepted by any such Act, shall be incorporated therewith and apply, so far as applicable, to the undertaking authorised thereby.

The directors of any tramway undertaking heretofore authorised may apply to the Government by petition praying that any such tramway undertaking may be brought under the provisions of this Act; and the Governor, if he shall deem it advisable so to do, may, on receipt of such petition, by proclamation in the Government Gazette, declare that this Act shall apply to any such tramway undertaking; and from and after such proclamation all the clauses and provisions of this Act shall apply to such tramway undertaking, and all clauses and provisions in the Act heretofore passed authorising such tramway undertaking inconsistent with any clause or provision of this Act shall be deemed to have been repealed.

The promoters may purchase or take, under the provisions of the Compulsory Acquisition of Land Act 1925 any lands, authorised by the special Act, necessary for tramways other than lands subject to any public right-of-way, and all the provisions of that Act shall be incorporated with every special Act: Provided that the powers of the promoters for the compulsory purchase of lands for the purpose of the special Act shall not be exercised after the end of eighteen months from the passing thereof.

Every tramway line shall be constructed and maintained with two rails (the running surfaces of which shall be laid at a distance of four feet eight and a half inches from each other), and shall be constructed and maintained in such a manner that the uppermost surface of every rail shall be on a level with the surface of the road; and the rails used in the construction of every tramway shall be of iron or steel, and of the weight of not less than twenty pounds to the yard. And such rails shall be grooved, the groove in no case exceeding one and a quarter inches in width.

Every tramway shall be constructed and maintained in such a manner as not to cause any impediment or injury to the use by the public for the purpose of traffic of any road whereon the same shall be laid, and the public shall at all times be entitled to the free and uninterrupted use of every part of such road, save when any conveyance of the promoters shall be passing over or be about to pass over any part thereof, or be standing thereon, and then the public shall not be entitled to the use of the part of such road over which such conveyance shall be passing or about to pass, or upon which such conveyance shall be standing: Provided that no such conveyance shall stand at any point in any road other than a terminus of the tramways, except for the purpose of taking up or setting down passengers, or for the purpose of passing at any turn-out or siding.

The promoters from time to time may dig up and alter the surface of any road, and with the consent of the road authority temporarily stop the traffic thereof, for the purpose of making, forming, laying down, maintaining and renewing any tramway duly authorised, or any part or parts thereof respectively, upon, over, or through any road, or over any river or stream, subject to the following regulations:

they shall give to the road authority notice of their intention so to do, specifying the time at which they will begin, and the portion of road proposed to be opened or broken up; such notice to be given seven days at least before the commencement of the work;

they shall not open or break up any road except under the superintendence and to the reasonable satisfaction of the road authority, unless that authority refuses or neglects to give such superintendence at the time specified in the notice, or discontinues the same during the work;

they shall not alter the level of any road unless authorised so to do by the special Act, and in all cases in which they do so alter the level they shall alter the level over the whole width of the road, and remake and remetal the same to the satisfaction of the road authority;

they shall pay all reasonable expenses to which the road authority is put on account of such superintendence;

they shall not, without the consent of the road authority, open or break up at any one time and place a greater length than one hundred yards of any road, and they shall leave an interval of at least three hundred yards between any two places at which they shall open or break up any road at the same time.

Where the carriage-way in or upon which any tramway is proposed to be formed or laid down is crossed by any railway or tramway on the level, any work which the promoters may be empowered to construct, and which affects or in anywise interferes with such railway or tramway or the traffic thereon, shall be constructed and maintained under the superintendence (at the cost of the promoters) and to the reasonable satisfaction of the person, corporation, company, or authority owning such railway or tramway, unless, after notice to be given by the promoters seven days at least before the commencement of such work, such superintendence is refused or withheld.

When the promoters have opened or broken up any portion of any road they shall be under the following further obligations, namely—

they shall with all convenient speed, and in all cases within four weeks at the most (unless the road authority otherwise consents in writing), complete the work on account of which they opened or broke up the same, and (subject to the formation, maintenance, or renewal of the tramway) fill in the ground and make good the surface, and, to the satisfaction of the road authority, restore the portion of the road to as good condition as that in which it was before it was opened or broken up, and clear away all surplus paving or metalling material or rubbish occasioned by the work to such spot in the road district wherein any such road shall be situated as the road authorities shall direct;

they shall in the meantime cause the place where the road is opened or broken up to be fenced and watched, and to be properly lighted at night;

they shall bear or pay all reasonable expenses of the repair of the road for six months after the same is restored as far as those expenses are increased by the opening or breaking up.

If the promoters fail to comply in any respect with the provisions of the present section, they shall for every such offence (without prejudice to the enforcement of specific performance of the requirements of this or the special Act or to any other remedy against them) be liable to a penalty not exceeding forty dollars, and to a further penalty not exceeding ten dollars for each day during which any such failure continues after the first day on which such penalty is incurred.

Where the level of any road shall be altered in making any tramway, the ascent of any main road shall not be more than one foot in thirty feet, and the ascent of any other public road shall not be more than one foot in twenty feet. The level of the main or public road shall be furnished by the road authority to the promoters, and a good and sufficient fence of four feet high at the least shall be made on each side of every bridge which shall be erected by the promoters.

The promoters shall at their own expense at all times maintain and keep in good condition and repair, with such materials and in such manner as the road authority shall direct and to their satisfaction, so much of any road whereon any tramway belonging to the promoters is laid as lies between the rails of the tramway, and where two tramways are laid by the same promoters in any road at a distance of not more than four feet from each other the portion of the road between the tramways, and in every case so much of the road as extends eighteen inches beyond the rails of and on each side of any such tramway.

If undertaking abandoned promoters to restore road

If the promoters abandon their undertaking or any part of the same and take up any tramway or any part of any tramway belonging to them, they shall with all convenient speed and in all cases within six weeks at the most from the time any portion of the tramway is abandoned or taken up (unless the road authority otherwise consents in writing) fill in the ground and make good the surface, and to the satisfaction of the road authority restore the portion of the road upon which such tramway was laid to as good a condition as that in which it was before such tramway was laid thereon, and clear away all surplus paving or metalling material or rubbish occasioned by such work; and they shall in the meantime cause the place where the road is opened or broken up to be fenced and watched and to be properly lighted at night: Provided always, that if the promoters fail to comply with the provisions of this section the road authority if they think fit may themselves at any time after seven days' notice to the promoters open and break up the road and do the works necessary for the repair and maintenance or restoration of the road to the extent in this section above mentioned, and the expense incurred by the road authority in so doing shall be repaid to them by the promoters.

The road authority on the one hand and the promoters on the other hand may from time to time enter into and carry into effect, and from time to time alter, renew, or vary, contracts, agreements, or arrangements with respect to the paving and keeping in repair of the whole or any portion of the roadway of any road on which the promoters shall lay any tramway, and the proportion to be paid by either of them of the expense of such paving and keeping in repair.