# The Railway Bridges (Load-Bearing Standards) (England and Wales) Order 1972, Article 3: Load-bearing standards for existing railway bridges


(1) Subject to the provisions of this Order, the load-bearing standards for existing railway bridges shall be as follows:—
(a) where the bridge was constructed or last reconstructed on or after 1st January 1962 and the bridge is not one of those listed in Schedule 2 to this Order, the standard which would be applicable to it under Article 4 of this Order if it were a new railway bridge the construction of which was undertaken immediately after this Order has come into operation;
(b) where either:—
(i) the bridge is one of the bridges listed in Schedule 2 to this Order, or
(ii) the bridge was constructed or last reconstructed on or after 1st January 1955, but before 1st January 1962, and paragraph (a) above does not apply to it,
the standard specified in Part II of Schedule 1 to this Order;
(c) where the bridge was constructed or last reconstructed before 1st January 1955 and neither paragraph (a) nor paragraph (b) above applies to it, the standard specified in Part I of Schedule 1 to this Order.
(2) The load-bearing standard prescribed by paragraph (1)(b) or (c) of this Article for an existing railway bridge shall only apply in relation to that bridge until it is reconstructed or replaced and shall not apply for determining the standard to be complied with by the bridge as reconstructed or by the bridge which takes its place.
(3) The foregoing provisions of this Article—
(a) shall not apply to any existing railway bridge where at the coming into operation of this Order there is in force in relation to the road carried by that bridge a prohibition under section 1, 6, 12 or 17 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1967 as respects the weight of the traffic using that road, and shall remain inapplicable to that bridge so long as such prohibition as respects weight of traffic remains in force (whether in the same or some altered form), and
(b) shall not apply to any of the existing railway bridges listed in Schedule 3 to this Order pending the placing on the road carried by that bridge of a prohibition under section 1, 6, 12 or 17 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1967 as respects the weight of the traffic using that road, and so long as such prohibition as respects weight of traffic remains in force (whether in its original or some altered form),
but when such prohibition expires or is revoked and is not immediately replaced by another prohibition under one of the said sections of the said Act as respects the weight of traffic, then, as from the date of such expiration or revocation, the foregoing provisions of this Article shall (subject to paragraph (4) of this Article) apply to that railway bridge.
(4) Nothing in paragraph (3) of this Article shall be taken as applying the provisions of paragraphs (1) and (2) of this Article to any railway bridge listed in Schedule 3 to this Order and asterisked in that Schedule (such marking in that Schedule indicating that doubts exist whether the way carried by that bridge is a highway) unless, when the prohibition mentioned in paragraph (3) of this Article expires or is revoked, the way carried by the bridge is then a road as defined in Article 2(1) of this Order.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1972/1705/article/3 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/railway-bridges-load-bearing-standards-england-and-wales-order-1972/article-3
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.