Section 40

When any articles mentioned in the Schedule are contained in any parcel or package delivered to a railway administration for carriage by railway, whether as passengers’ luggage or not, and the value of such articles in the parcel or package exceeds $100, the railway administration shall not be responsible beyond that sum for the loss, destruction or deterioration of the parcel or package unless the person sending or delivering the parcel or package to the railway administration caused its value and contents to be declared or declared them at the time of the delivery of the parcel or package for carriage by railway, and if so required by the railway administration paid or engaged to pay a percentage on the value so declared by way of compensation for increased risk.

When any parcel or package of which the value has been declared under subsection (1) has been lost or destroyed or has deteriorated, the compensation recoverable in respect of such loss, destruction or deterioration shall not exceed the value so declared, and the burden of proving the value so declared to have been the true value shall, notwithstanding anything in the declaration, lie on the person claiming the compensation.

A railway administration may make it a condition of carrying a parcel declared to contain any article mentioned in the Schedule that the railway employee authorised in this behalf has been satisfied by examination or otherwise that the parcel actually contains the article declared to be therein.

This section shall not apply to any parcel carried by the railway for any postal authority.