40.—(1) Before an application is made for a railway order, the applicant shall—

(a) deposit and keep deposited at such place or places, being a place or places which is or are easily accessible to the public, F50[and make available electronically in such manner,] as may be appointed by the Board, a copy of the draft order and all documents which will accompany the application, for not less than 6 weeks following the publication of the notice referred to in paragraph (b),

(b) publish a notice in one or more newspapers circulating in the area to which the order relates F50[and make available electronically in such manner as may be appointed by the Board]—

F51[(i) indicating that an application will be made for an order and specifying the types of decision the Board may make under section 43 in relation to the application,]

F50[(ia) indicating that the proposed railway works covered by the draft order are subject to an environmental impact assessment procedure,]

(ii) indicating the time and the place or places at which, and the period (which shall be F51[at least 6 weeks]) during which, a copy of the draft order and accompanying documents deposited F51[and made available electronically] under this section may be inspected,

(iii) stating that F50[the Board is the competent authority responsible for taking the decision whether or not to grant the order, from which relevant information can be obtained and to which comments or questions can be submitted, and that] the Board will consider any submissions in relation to the proposed order or in relation to the likely effects on the environment of the proposed railway works which are submitted in writing to it by any person within the period referred to in subparagraph (ii),

F51[(iv) stating that the draft order and accompanying documents are available to be viewed electronically and at the places appointed by the Board under paragraph (a) and that a copy of, or extract from, the draft order and accompanying documents may be purchased on payment of a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making such copy or extract,]

(v) stating, if it be the case, that the proposed railway works are likely to have significant effects on the environment in Northern Ireland,

F52[(vi) stating that a person may question the validity of a decision of the Board by way of an application for judicial review, under Order 84 of the Rules of the Superior Courts (S.I. No. 15 of 1986) and

(v) identifying where practical information on the review mechanism can be found.]

(c) serve on the planning authority in whose functional area (or any part thereof) the proposed railway works are proposed to be carried out, on the Minister F50[, on any designated body] and on such other persons (if any) as the Board may direct a copy of the draft order and accompanying documents and the notice referred to in paragraph (b),

(d) serve a copy of the notice referred to in paragraph (b) together with relevant extracts from the documents referred to in paragraph (a) on every (if any) occupier and every (if any) owner of a land referred to in the draft order, and

(e) in a case where—

(i) the proposed railway works are likely to have significant effects on the environment in Northern Ireland, or

(ii) the authority referred to subsequently in this paragraph requests that such a copy be so sent to it,

send a copy of the F53[environmental impact assessment report] to the prescribed authority in Northern Ireland, together with a notice, in such form as may be prescribed, stating that an application for approval of the said works has been made and that submissions may be made in writing to the Board (during the period specified in the notice referred to in subsection (1)(b)) in relation to the likely effects on the environment of the said works.

(2) Members of the public may inspect a copy of a draft railway order and accompanying documents deposited under this section free of charge at the times and during the period specified in the notice referred to in subsection (1)(b) and may purchase copies of or extracts from any of the documents aforesaid on payment of a fee to the applicant not exceeding the reasonable cost of making such copies or extracts as may be fixed by the applicant.

(3) A person may, during the period specified in the notice referred to in subsection (1)(b), make submissions in writing to the Board in relation to the proposed railway order or the likely effects on the environment of the proposed railway works.

(4) Where the F53[environmental impact assessment report] and a notice referred to in subsection (1)(e) has been sent to the prescribed authority in Northern Ireland pursuant to that provision, the Agency, CIÉ, or the Board, in the case of any other applicant, as appropriate, shall enter into consultations with that authority regarding the potential effects on the environment of the proposed railway works and the measures envisaged to reduce or eliminate such effects.]

F50[(5) The Board shall make an electronic version of the documents specified in section 37(3) and made available by the applicant under this section available electronically on the Board’s website.]