CONTENT OF THE RAILWAY LAW
I. general PROVISIONS
Article 1
This law shall regulate the organization of the railway system, the method and conditions for the performance of the railway transport, status of the railway infrastructure and the conditions for accessing it, provision of the services of special public interest, and the organization of the railway transportation.
Article 2
Certain expressions used in this Law have the following meaning:
- "Accident" is extraordinary event in the railway traffic where one or more persons were killed or were severely injured or there was significant material damage or significant interruption of the railway traffic;
- "Axle load" is the weight of empty or loaded railway vehicle expressed in KN divided with the number of axes of the vehicle;
- "Bulletin of the network" is a detailed view of the available railway infrastructure intended for the railway transporters , containing general rules, deadlines, procedures and criteria regarding the determination of the compensation fee for use of the railway infrastructure and criteria for the distribution of capacities, as well as other information about the conditions for accessing the railway infrastructure;
- "Railway system" comprises the railway transportation and the railway infrastructure.
- “ Railway Transportation “ is comprised of transportation of passengers and goods and / or traction of trains
- "Railway infrastructure" comprises the railroads with substructure and superstructure, the railway stations, the structures on the lines, the structures for the operations of electrical traction of the trains, the signalling and safety systems, the telecommunication and information systems in the railway traffic, the buildings, the depots and other buildings in the railway stations that are in a function of organizing, regulating of the rail traffic and infrastructure maintenance and the land which by its function belongs to the line, the official spots and structures;
- "Manager of the infrastructure" is a public or other legal entity authorised to maintain and manage the railway infrastructure.
- "Infrastructure capacity" is the total number of train routes possible on the railway infrastructure, which are used in accordance with a timetable.
- "License to manage the railway infrastructure" is a public document that is issued by a competent authority confirming that the legal entity fulfils the prescribed conditions for managing and maintaining the railway infrastructure;
- "Certificate for safety when operating the railway infrastructure" is a document that is issued by a competent authority confirming that the Public enterprise or another legal entity , fulfils the safety conditions for managing and maintaining the railway infrastructure;
- "Bulletin of the network" is a detailed view of the available railway infrastructure intended for the railway transporters, containing general rules, deadlines, procedures and criteria regarding the determination of the compensation fee for use of the railway infrastructure and criteria for the distribution of capacities, as well as other information about the conditions for accessing the railway infrastructure;
- "Transporter" is a legal entity with private or public status public or a private enterprise, whose main activity is to render transportation services to passengers and/or goods by means of a railroad , on the basis of transportation licese in accordance with this Law.;
- "Transportation licence" is a public document issued by a competent authority recognizing that the legal entity has the status of railway transporter with a right to perform all or any special types of transportation.is a document that is issued by a competent authority recognising that the enterprise has the status of railway carrier with the right of performing all or any special types of transportation;
- "Safety certificate" is a document that is issued by a competent authority recognising that the enterprise has fulfilled the prescribed conditions for safety in the railway transportation;
- "International group" is any association comprising at least two railway enterprises, founded in two different states in order to provide international railway services;
- "Railroad line" is an inland rail line of communications used for transportations of passengers and goods with railway vehicles;
- "Reconstruction of a railroad line, facility, device, structure on the railroad line, and of a railway vehicle" is repair that changes its basic technical and construction characteristics, items that can influence the stability of the railroad, structures on the railroad, changes of the basic characteristics of the alignment etc.
- "Overhaul of a railroad line" means complete replacement of the railroad line superstructure (rails, track equipment, sleepers, switches and points, screening and filling of the ballast), rehabilitation of the substructure and other activities on the existing railroad lines;
- "Maintenance of the railway infrastructure" comprises all activities of current and investment repair of the railway infrastructure;
- "Industrial railway" is railway which is used by a legal entity in the field of traffic, industry, mining, forestry and other areas of the economy for transportation of goods and people for its own needs;
- "Industrial siding" is railway siding that is connected to the railway infrastructure and serves for delivery and shipment of goods for the owner or the holder of the right of use for that siding;
- "Handling line " is a part of the railway infrastructure , which is used for transportation of goods, as required, and without defined time table .
- "Level crossing" is the place of intersection of a railroad line with a road on the same level;
- "Railroad line area" is earth area on the both sides of and under the rail line embankment, defined by the investment, technical and expropriation documentation. The smallest width of the railroad line area shall be 1.0 m on the both sides of the embankment.
- "Protection area of a railroad line" is earth area on the both sides of the line, 200 meters wide, on the both sides, measured from the end of railroad area;
- "Railroad air space" is the space above the railroad area in height of 12 m, respectively 14 m, when long distance power lines of 220 kV passes it, measured from the upper edge of the rail;
- "Railway station" is an official spot on the railroad line from where the traffic of the trains moving in opposite and the trains moving in same direction one after another, is regulated, and where the passengers get in and out of the train and the goods are loaded and unloaded;
- "Official spots on a railroad line " shall be spots from where the railway traffic is regulated (railway stations, crossings, intersections, places of cross-over from a double to a single track railroad line and vice versa and halts);
- "Timetable" is an act of the manager of the railway infrastructure which determines the planned traffic of trains for public transportation of passengers and goods, as well as the transportation for own needs, on the railway infrastructure;
- "Public transport" is transportation of persons and/or goods available to anyone under equal conditions that is performed based on concluded contract between the carrier and the user of the services;
- "Transportation for own needs" is the transportation of persons and/or goods that is performed by the Public enterprise, transporters and other legal entities and individuals which own railway vehicles, for their own needs;
- "Train" is properly composed and connected line of railway passenger and freight cars with one traction vehicle or more traction vehicles with its own propulsion, only a traction vehicle with its own propulsion and motor cars;
- "Railway vehicle" is a vehicle that moves on the railroad line (locomotive, motor car, passenger and freight cars, as well as railway vehicles for special purposes);
- "Motive power" is a rail vehicle with its own propulsion (diesel locomotives, electrical locomotives, steam locomotives, motor cars and motor vehicles for special purposes);
- "Trailing vehicle" is a railway vehicle used for transportation of passengers, luggage or goods (passenger, freight cars, trailers);
- "Mass of the vehicle per longitudinal meter" is the mass of the empty or loaded railway vehicle divided with the length of the vehicle in meters, measured from the front to the front of the uncompressed buffers i.e. automatic junctions, expressed in KN per longitudinal meter;
- "Combined transport" is the transport of goods comprising at least two types of transport;
- "Railway network" is the entire railway infrastructure managed by the manager of the infrastructure;
II. organization of the railway system
Article 3
(1) The railway system in the Republic of Macedonia, specified with this Law shall be founded on the principle of separation between the railway transport and the railway infrastructure.
(2) The railway infrastructure is considered as a public good intended for general use.
(3) The railway infrastructure is the property of the Republic of Macedonia and it cannot be subject to acquisition. acquiring property rights.
(4)
(5) The management, construction, reconstruction, overhaul, maintenance, protection of the railway infrastructure, the organization and regulation of the railway traffic and the management of the regulation and safety systems, as activities of public interest, shall be performed by the Public Enterprise for Railway Infrastructure or another legal entity in a manner and conditions specified by this Law.
(6) The railway transportation of passengers and goods , whether for public or for personal purposes, shall be performed by Public enterprise or another legal entity under conditions and manner determined by this law.
III. RAILWAY TRANSPORTATION
Article 4
(1) (1) The railway transportation is public transportation of passengers and goods and transportation for own purposes.
(2) The public transportation whether may be international or domestic, and shall be performed according to the market conditions and on the basis of the transport contracts, unless this law specifies otherwise.
(32) Public railway transportation of passengers, which shall be performed according to a published time table, may be:
- city transport - on the territory of a city;
- larger city area transport - on the territory of the city and surrounding areas
- regional transport - between several municipalities.
Article 5
(1) A railway transporter may be any domestic or foreign legal entity, which possesses a license for public transportation and safety certificate.
(2) The international group shall also be considered as a transporter within the meaning of this law.
1. License for public transport
Article 6
(1) The license for public transportation ( hereinafter in the text “ license “) shall be issued, upon request from a domestic legal entity, by the Ministry of Transport and Communications
(2) In order to obtain the license stipulated in paragraph 1 of this Article, the legal entity must fulfill the following conditions:.
1. The Headquarters of the legal entity must be on the territory of the Republic of Macedonia.
2. The legal entity must be registered for the performance of the railway transportation activity ( with or without traction of trains or only for traction of trains);
3. The legal entity must not be a subject to a bankruptcy procedure
4. The manager or any member of the managing body of the legal entity must not be subject of an effective sentence or pronounced safety measure of one or more years for a crime related to public finances, monetary transactions and economy, evading customs supervision and failure to pay customs duties payable in the customs procedure in cases when the transporter is applying for a license for international transportation of goods subject to customs procedures, during the period of duration of the consequences of the sentence or the pronounced safety measure;
5. The legal entity should be financially capable, which means that it should be able to fulfill its present and future obligations , under normal working conditions, during 12 months period, showed by written evidences for economic and financial capability;
6. The legal entity must employ at least two expert workers per train who can provide a high level of safe transportation;
7. The legal entity should have available quality park of vehicles and other appropriate technical equipment;
8. The legal entity should be insured by an insurance company and should enclose a written evidence for its capability to compensate any inflicted damage related to responsibility for the performance of its activity to the infrastructure, users of transportation services, third parties and the environment, in accordance with law and other regulations, as well as international agreements binding for the Republic of Macedonia.
(3) The conditions stipulated in paragraph 2 of this Article shall be prescribed in more detail by the Minister of Transport and Communications
(4) Each legal entity which has applied for a license and which fulfills the conditions under paragraph 2 of this Article, shall be issued a license for public transportation.
(5) The license stipulated in paragraph 1 of this Article shall not be sufficient condition for the transporter to be entitled to access to the railway infrastructure.
(6) The Transporter must at all times fulfill the conditions stipulated in paragraph 2 of this Article, except for the cases when this Law specifies otherwise.
(7) The method of issue and revoke of the license for public transportation, its form and content of the license template, the form, content and method of keeping the register on issued and revoked licenses, and the level of charges for issue of the license, shall be prescribed by the Minister of Transport and Communications
Article 7
(1) The license shall be issued for a time period of 5 years with the option of extension up to a maximum of 20 years.
(2) In case of extension of the validity of the license within the meaning of according to paragraph 1 of this Article, the transporter must prove that it continues to fulfill all of the conditions stipulated in Article 6, paragraph 2 of this Law.
(3) Regarding the changes pertaining to the validity of the license, the Ministry of Transport and Communications shall notify all states which have a signed agreement for mutual recognition of the licenses with the Republic of Macedonia.
Article 8
(1) If it is determined that the Transporter fails to fulfill the conditions stipulated in Article 6, paragraph 2, item 5 of this Law, provided that there is no threat to the railway transportation safety , the Ministry of Transport and Communications shall, by order, fix to the Transporter certain period of time which can not be longer than 6 months from the day of the order delivery, to remove the deficiencies.