United Kingdom House of Lords Decisions

Subject_Provisional Order — Private Legislation Procedure — Locus standi — Proposed New Railway Line — Apprehension of Future Injury. Headnote:

The promoters of the Order were the Corporation of Greenock, and one of its purposes was to authorise the construction by and at the expense of the Glasgow and South Western Railway Company of a short branch railway from the railway at the Albert Dock of the Trustees of the Port and Harbours of Greenock to Harvie Lane in the parish and burgh of Greenock.

The Glasgow and South-Western Railway alone had access by rail to the Albert Harbour. The Caledonian Railway Company alone had access by rail to the East, West, and Victoria Harbours in Greenock.

The Caledonian Railway objected to the Order on the grounds, firstly, that there was a prospective danger that the Glasgow and South-Western Railway might ultimately be enabled by railways not sought to be authorised by this Order to get access to the East, West, and Victoria Harbours; secondly that the Caledonian Railway would, if the new line were constructed, lose certain traffic which they at present had with the Brewers Sugar Company and other places of business along the proposed route. In their petition they stated—“The Order appears to be promoted by arrangement between the Corporation, the company, and Messrs Caird & Company, who are a shipbuilding firm in Greenock, and who are closely interested in the affairs of the company, for the purpose of enabling the company to construct a railway from the Albert Harbour to Harvie Lane, and by means of such railway to obtain access to works along the route of such railway and railway connection close up to the West Harbour of Greenock, which may, by arrangement with the Corporation and the Harbour Trustees, and without further Parliamentary power, be connected with or extended to that harbour and the East and Victoria Harbours.” …

The promoters' contended that the Caledonian Railway Company had no locus standi.

The Commissioners refused a locus on the first and allowed a locus on the second objection.