Carriers Act

United Kingdom [1830]

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June 24, 2026

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The Carriers Act of 1830 was the first legislative intervention in the United Kingdom concerning the carriage of goods. It initially applied to common carriers by land, including road and rail. However, later acts, such as the Railways Act of 1921 and the Transport Act of 1962, introduced specific provisions for railways, eventually leading to British Rail no longer being considered a common carrier. The Carriers Act never applied to private carriers or to carriers by sea or inland waterway, and if carriage involved both land and water, it only applied to the land portion.1

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carriage of goods
Roads, railways, and inland waterways
In England the Carriers Act of 1830 was the first legislative intervention in the field of carriage of goods. The act originally applied to all common carriers by land, including both road and railway carriage. The Railways Act of 1921, however, made special provisions with regard to the…
Read More
In England the Carriers Act of 1830 was the first legislative intervention in the field of carriage of goods. The act originally applied to all common carriers by land, including both road and railway carriage. The Railways Act of 1921, however, made special provisions with regard to the…
Read More