Conditions of traffic

The Transport Department of the Velocity Interoperability Network sets the conditions under which traffic is conducted on the designated routes of the Velocity Interoperability Network. The conditions are of two kinds. The general conditions apply to every movement on every designated route, whether or not a permit is required for it. The class conditions set limits on speed, weight and hours that differ between the four classes of route. Both kinds bind the holder of a transport permit as a condition of the permit, and bind exempt traffic by virtue of the designating order for each route.

The conditions below took effect on 6 September 2026. They replace the interim conditions under which traffic moved during the transition period, which were set by member organisations individually for the routes serving their own sites. The Department may vary the conditions by notice published in the Newsroom and, where the change restricts traffic, gives at least fourteen days' notice.

General conditions. The seven conditions below apply to all traffic on all designated routes.

1. Permits to be carried

Traffic that requires a transport permit must not use a designated route unless the permit, or a copy of it, is carried and can be produced on request to an officer of the Department, to Emergency Services or to the member organisation whose site is being entered.

2. Precedence

Emergency Services vehicles responding to an incident have precedence over all other traffic. Scheduled passenger services have precedence over goods movements, and goods movements running in an allocated path have precedence over unscheduled movements. Traffic without precedence must give way at the first safe opportunity.

3. Fitness of vehicles

Every vehicle used on a designated route must be maintained in a condition fit for the route and the traffic carried, and must be within the weight and dimension limits of the class. The Department may inspect any vehicle on a designated route and may direct that an unfit vehicle be removed.

4. Hazardous goods

Hazardous goods must be declared to the Department before they are moved, stating the class of goods, the quantity and the route. They may be carried on Class A routes, on Class B routes only where the permit carries a route-specific endorsement, and on Class C routes to and from the exchange or depot the route serves. They are never carried on a passenger service.

5. Hours of operation

Between 22:00 and 05:00, goods movements are confined to Class A routes and to Class D routes where the designating order allows them. Routes of other classes are closed to traffic outside the hours stated for their class unless the Department has given written consent for a particular movement.

6. Reporting of incidents

Any collision, derailment, spillage, injury or obstruction on a designated route, and any occurrence that closed a route or delayed a scheduled service by more than twenty minutes, must be reported to the Department by email within 24 hours by every permit holder involved.

7. Closures and diversions

Traffic must comply with closure notices, speed restriction notices and diversion notices published by the Department, and with directions given at the site of works or of an incident. A route that is closed must not be entered, and a diversion must be followed for its full length.

Class conditions. The limits in the table apply to every route of the class shown, subject to any lower limit imposed on a particular section by a speed restriction notice or by the designating order for the route.

The maximum gross weight is the weight of the vehicle and its load together. A movement above the limit for a class may be authorised individually where the Department is satisfied that the route can bear it; applications are made by email at least ten working days before the movement and state the weight, the axle arrangement and the route. Section speed restrictions currently in force are listed on the Maintenance and closures page.

Reporting an incident. The steps below apply to every permit holder involved in an incident on a designated route. Exempt traffic is asked to follow the same steps so that the Department has a complete record of occurrences on the network.

1. 1

   Step 1: Make the site safe

   Stop, warn approaching traffic and, where there is injury, fire or a spillage of hazardous goods, alert Emergency Services at once. Do not move a vehicle that is obstructing the route unless it is safe to do so and no one is injured.

2. 2

   Step 2: Notify the Department within 24 hours

   Send an email giving the permit number, the route and the nearest site or distance marker, the time, the vehicles and operators involved, and a plain description of what happened and of any damage to the route.

3. 3

   Step 3: Preserve records

   Keep the movement records, allocation of the goods path, loading documents and any declaration of hazardous goods relating to the movement. Do not repair or dispose of a damaged vehicle until the Department has said that it need not be inspected.

4. 4

   Step 4: Provide a written account if asked

   Where the Department opens an inquiry it asks each permit holder involved for a written account within ten working days, and may ask to interview the persons in charge of the vehicles.

5. 5

   Step 5: Receive the finding

   The Department writes to every permit holder involved with its finding. It may attach further conditions to a permit, require a vehicle to be inspected before it returns to a designated route, or suspend or revoke a permit.

Suspension and revocation. The Department may suspend a permit where it has reason to believe that a condition has been breached and the breach endangers other traffic, and may revoke a permit where a breach is established and is serious or repeated. Before revoking a permit the Department writes to the holder setting out the breach and allows ten working days for a response. A suspension or revocation is recorded in the register of permits and the holder may ask that the decision be reviewed.

Questions about the conditions, declarations of hazardous goods and applications for an individual authorisation may be sent to contact@transport.gov.vin. The times at which routes are open to scheduled services and goods paths are set out on the Timetables page; how permits are obtained is described on the Permits page.