Railways Act, 1933

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR No. 9/1933
• Year: 1933

Number 9 of 1933.
RAILWAYS ACT, 1933.
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
Section 1. Definitions. 2. Remission of certain debts due by the Company to the State. 3. Re-construction of the capital of the Company. 4. Investment of trust or court moneys in stock of the Company. 5. Modification of standard revenue. 6. Election of directors by postal voting. 7. Number and terms of office of directors. 8. Qualification of directors. 9. Discontinuance of train services. 10. Regulation of conditions of service of road transport employees of railway company. 11. Superannuation of employees of the Company. 12. Uniform rate for carriage of merchandise. 13. Liability for expenses of the road transport functions of the Railway Tribunal. 14. Empowering railway companies to engage in air transport. 15. Amendment of section 19 of the Principal Act. 16. Section 55 of the Principal Act not to apply to road transport employees. 17. Amendment of the Agriculture Act, 1931. 18. Expenses under this Act. 19. Repeals. 20. Short title and citation.
FIRST SCHEDULE.
SECOND SCHEDULE.
Acts Referred to Railways Act, 1924 No. 29 of 1924 Railways (Existing Officers and Servants) Act, 1926 No. 25 of 1926 Road Transport Act, 1932 No. 2 of 1932 Agriculture Act, 1931 No. 8 of 1931 Railways (Directorate) Act, 1924 No. 61 of 1924 Railways (Miscellaneous) Act, 1932 No. 3 of 1932
Number 9 of 1933.
RAILWAYS ACT, 1933.
AN ACT TO AMEND THE LAW RELATING TO RAILWAYS AND RAILWAY COMPANIES. [15th June, 1933.]
BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS OF SAORSTÁT EIREANN AS FOLLOWS:—
	Definitions.	1.—In this Act—
	the expression “the Principal Act” means the Railways Act, 1924 (No. 29 of 1924);
	the expression “the Minister” means the Minister for Industry and Commerce;
	the expression “the Company” means the Great Southern Railways Company;
	the expression “capital stock” includes debenture stock.
	Remission of certain debts due by the Company to the State.	2.—The payment of the following capital sums due by the Company to the State on foot of the loans hereinafter mentioned and the payment of any interest due or accruing due at the passing of this Act on the said capital sums respectively are hereby remitted and the Company is hereby released from all liability to make the said payments or any of them, that is to say:—
	(a) the sum of £41,500 (forty-one thousand, five hundred pounds) being the balance remaining due on foot of sums amounting in the aggregate to £56,185 (fifty-six thousand, one hundred and eighty-five pounds) advanced at divers times by the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland to the late Southern Railway Company;
	(b) the sum of £65,000 (sixty-five thousand pounds) advanced in or about the year 1902 by the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland to the late Cork, Blackrock, and Passage Railway Company;
	(c) the sum of £179,400 (one hundred and seventy-nine thousand, four hundred pounds) advanced in or about the year 1918 by the Government of the late United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to the late Dublin and South Eastern Railway Company.
	Re-construction of the capital of the Company.	3.—(1) In this section—
	the expression “the major capital stock” means the respective amounts stated in the second column of the First Schedule to this Act of the several denominations stated in the first column of the said First Schedule of the capital stock of the Company;
	the expression “the reduced capital stock” means the major capital stock of the Company as reduced by the operation of this section;
	the expression “the appointed day” means in respect of each denomination of the major capital stock of the Company the day which is appointed by the Minister under this section to be the appointed day for the purposes of this section in respect of such denomination of the said major capital stock; and
	references to the portion of any denomination of the major capital stock held by a person shall be construed as referring to the total amount of such denomination held by such person whether he has one certificate or more than one certificate in respect of such holding.
	(2) The Minister shall by order made as soon as conveniently may be after the passing of this Act appoint, in respect of each denomination of the major capital stock of the Company, a day to be the appointed day for the purposes of this section in respect of such denomination of such major capital stock, and different days may be so appointed in respect of different denominations of such major capital stock.
	(3) On and from the appointed day the several denominations of the major capital stock shall (subject to the operation of the provisions of this section relating to fractions of a pound of stock) become and be reduced to the several amounts respectively stated in the third column of the First Schedule to this Act opposite the mention in the first column of the said First Schedule of each such denomination of the major capital stock.
	(4) Every person who is on the appointed day the holder of any portion of any denomination of the major capital stock shall, for every hundred pounds of such denomination of such stock so held by him, become and be the holder on the appointed day of that amount of the same denomination of the reduced capital stock which is stated in the fourth column of the First Schedule to this Act opposite the mention of such denomination in the first column of the said First Schedule, and so in proportion for amounts of stock greater or less than one hundred pounds, but subject in every case to the provisions of this section relating to fractions of a pound of stock.
	(5) No person shall by the operation of this section become the holder of a fractional part of a pound of the reduced capital stock, and where, but for this sub-section, a person would so become the holder of a fractional part of a pound of the reduced capital stock on the appointed day, such fractional part shall be created as one pound and the amount of the reduced capital stock of which such person becomes the holder by virtue of this section shall be increased accordingly.
	(6) Notwithstanding anything contained in this section, the respective amounts of the several denominations of the reduced capital stock stated in the third column of the First Schedule to this Act shall be deemed to be increased by such amounts as may be rendered necessary by the operation of the next foregoing sub-section of this section, and this section shall be construed and have effect accordingly.
	(7) On the appointed day all certificates in respect of the major capital stock shall become and be void, and every holder of any portion of any denomination of the major capital stock shall be entitled, at any time after the appointed day, to surrender to the Company the certificate or certificates (rendered void by this sub-section) for such portion of such denomination and to receive from the Company free of charge a certificate for that amount of the same denomination of the reduced capital stock of which such person becomes the holder on the appointed day by virtue of this section.
	(8) Sections 10, 11, and 12 of the Great Southern Railways Amalgamation Scheme, 1925, shall apply in relation to the reduced capital stock and the several denominations thereof respectively in like manner in all respects as they apply in relation to the major capital stock and the several denominations thereof respectively, and accordingly the words “every hundred pounds of such stock” contained in the said section 12 shall be construed as meaning every hundred pounds of the reduced capital stock, other than debenture stock.
	(9) Where under any agreement made before the passing of this Act the Company is under a legal obligation to pay or make to any other company (whether registered within or outside Saorstát Eireann) a share of or payment out of the receipts or the net receipts derived from any particular part of the railway or the undertaking of the Company, the reduction of the capital stock of the Company effected by this section shall not operate to increase the amount of such share or payment beyond the amount which would be payable under such agreement if this section had not been enacted.
	(10) Neither the reduction effected by this section in the nominal capital value of any debenture stock of the Company nor the reduction similarly effected in the amount of interest on any such debenture stock shall entitle any holder of any such debenture stock to appoint a receiver or take any other steps for enforcing the payment of the capital moneys secured by such debenture stock or for enforcing payment of interest for any period subsequent to the appointed day on a greater capital sum than the capital amount to which such debenture stock is reduced by this section.
	Investment of trust or court moneys in stock of the Company.	4.—(1) Whether the Company does or does not pay a dividend at the rate of three per cent. per annum or any dividend on its ordinary stock, such of the capital stocks of the Company as were, on the 1st day of December, 1932, securities in which trustees are authorised by the Trustee Act, 1893 , to invest trust moneys shall continue, until the 31st day of December, 1935, to be securities in which trustees are so authorised to invest trust moneys, and such of the capital stocks of the Company as were on the 1st day of December, 1932, securities in which funds in any court might, under the rules of such court, be invested shall continue, until the 31st day of December, 1935, to be securities in which funds in such court may be invested.
	(2) For the...