The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 5: Aeronautics and Surface Transportation Generally

Chapter 058: State Acquisition of Railroads

• § 3401. Repealed. 2003, No. 56, § 13, eff. June 4, 2003.

• § 3402. Scope

  For purposes of this chapter, the term “State-owned railroad property” includes the following:

  (1) property of the former Rutland Railway Corporation south of chaining station 6583+50 (milepost 124.6875) in Burlington acquired pursuant to No. 162 of the Public Acts of 1963;

  (2) property of the former St. Johnsbury and Lamoille County Railroad acquired pursuant to No. 182 of the Public Acts of 1974 (1973 Adjourned Session);

  (3) property of the former Montpelier and Barre Railroad Corporation acquired pursuant to No. 188 of the Public Acts of 1980 (1979 Adjourned Session);

  (4) property of the Delaware and Hudson Railway Company’s Washington Branch acquired pursuant to No. 216 of the Public Acts of 1982 (1981 Adjourned Session) and No. 221, section 17(i) of the Public Acts of 1986 (1985 Adjourned Session); and

  (5) other railroad property acquired by the Agency of Transportation or its predecessors pursuant to this chapter or other enabling legislation. (Added 1987, No. 211 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 26, 1988.)

• § 3403. Acquisition and modernization

  (a) The Agency of Transportation, as agent for the State, and with the specific prior approval of the General Assembly, is authorized to acquire by purchase or condemnation, after the approval of the Surface Transportation Board, if necessary, any portion or portions of the line of any railroad directly affecting the State, including rails and ties, rights-of-way, land, buildings, appurtenances, and other facilities required for the operation of the line or to facilitate its sale or lease for continued operation. This action may be taken in concert with another state or states as necessary to ensure continued railroad service in this State.

  (b) To further the purposes of this chapter, the Secretary is authorized to take such action as may be necessary to secure any federal aid for which the State may be eligible.

  (c) The Secretary may contract for the rebuilding of any State-owned railroad property and, further, is authorized to spend appropriated funds for the modernization of any State-owned railroad property.

  (d) In connection with acquisitions or other projects specifically authorized by the General Assembly, the Agency may exercise the right of eminent domain in the manner and as provided in 19 V.S.A. chapter 5. This right may only be exercised in connection with the acquisition of existing railroad lines, including rails, ties, bridges, rights-of-way, land, buildings, appurtenances, and other facilities or improvements to said rails, ties, bridges, or appurtenances. (Added 1987, No. 211 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 26, 1988; amended 2011, No. 153 (Adj. Sess.), § 35.)

• § 3403a. Emergency repairs to bridges on State-owned railroad property

  Should emergency repairs be required to any bridge, pier, abutment, or culvert on State-owned railroad property, as defined in section 3402 of this title, the Secretary of Transportation, in his or her discretion, may reallocate funds from railroad projects previously authorized in the transportation capital program, accept any available federal aid, and enter into project agreements with railroad operators. (Added 1995, No. 60, § 11, eff. April 25, 1995.)

• § 3404. Right of first refusal

  (a) All railroad operating properties within the State offered for sale by a railroad, other than to another railroad for continued operation, shall also be offered to the State of Vermont. The offer shall be made in writing and shall be sent by certified mail to the Agency. The offer shall include a map and a description of the property, the price, if available, a description of the present and past railroad use of the property, and any terms, reservations, or conditions the railroad proposes to include as part of the sale. Within 365 days, less any period of time that has elapsed because of the pendency of abandonment proceedings before the Surface Transportation Board or the imposition of public use conditions under 49 U.S.C. § 10905, the Agency shall accept or reject the offer. If the Agency either rejects or fails to accept the offer in a timely manner, the State’s preferential right under this section shall terminate, but in no event shall the railroad offer to sell the property, or any portion of it, to any other person on terms more favorable than the final terms offered to the Agency.

  (b) For purposes of this section, “railroad operating properties” shall mean any land, structures, buildings, rails, ties, ballast, signals, and materials that have been or are being used for rail transportation purposes and that are located within the limits of the railroad’s roadway; provided, however, that if a railroad offers to sell any property in connection with its abandonment of a line, “railroad operating properties” shall also include any real or personal property of whatever description abutting the railroad’s roadway that has been or is being used for rail transportation purposes and that is reasonably necessary to continued railroad operation or other public use. (Added 1987, No. 211 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 26, 1988; amended 2011, No. 153 (Adj. Sess.), § 36.)

• § 3405. Lease for continued operation

  (a) The Secretary, as agent for the State, is authorized to lease or otherwise arrange for the continued operation of all or any State-owned railroad property to any responsible person, provided that approval for the operation, if necessary, is granted by the federal Surface Transportation Board under 49 C.F.R. Part 1150 (certificate to construct, acquire, or operate railroad lines). The transaction shall be subject to any further terms and conditions as in the opinion of the Secretary are necessary and appropriate to accomplish the purpose of this chapter.

  (b) To preserve continuity of service on State-owned railroads, the Secretary may enter into a short-term lease or operating agreement, for a term not to exceed six months, with a responsible railroad operator.

  (c) The Secretary shall notify the House and Senate Committees on Transportation or, if the General Assembly is not in session, the Joint Transportation Oversight Committee when there are 12 months remaining on the operating lease for any State-owned railroad, and when there are 12 months remaining on a lease extension for the operating lease for any State-owned railroad. (Added 1987, No. 211 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 26, 1988; amended 1999, No. 156 (Adj. Sess.), § 7, eff. May 29, 2000; 2003, No. 56, § 18, eff. June 4, 2003; 2023, No. 148 (Adj. Sess.), § 41, eff. June 3, 2024.)

• § 3406. Sale or lease of State-owned railroad property for other purposes

  (a) In connection with State-owned railroad property, the Secretary shall have authority to enter into licenses, leases, easements, and sales of personal property, including tracks, structures, and buildings which are to be removed by the purchaser.

  (b) The Secretary shall have authority, with the approval of the Governor, to sell State-owned railroad property subject to the following conditions:

  (1) the property is located more than 33 feet from the centerline of main line track (or former main line track), and the Secretary determines that the property no longer is needed for railroad operating purposes or for railbanking under section 3408 of this title; and

  (2)(A) if the appraised value of the property is $100,000.00 or above, with the prior approval of the General Assembly of the sale and its terms, or, in the event that the General Assembly is not in session, with the prior approval of the Joint Transportation Oversight Committee; or

  (B) if the appraised value of the property is below $100,000.00, without further approval. (Added 1987, No. 211 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 26, 1988; amended 1989, No. 246 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 2009, No. 123 (Adj. Sess.), § 36.)

• § 3407. Deposits into the Transportation Fund

  (a) Funds received by the State from past, present, and future service providers on State-owned railroad property, together with funds received by the State because of licenses, leases, easements, sales of real or personal property, or the like, pertaining to or arising from State-owned railroad property, shall be deposited in the Transportation Fund.

  (b) The Agency of Transportation shall not charge any fee to abutting landowners who enter into agreements for noncommercial pipe or wire crossings of State-owned railroad property. (Added 1987, No. 211 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 26, 1988; amended 1995, No. 101 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)

• § 3408. Railbanking; notification

  (a) If the Secretary finds that the continued operation of any State-owned railroad property is not economically feasible under present conditions, he or she may place the line in railbanked status after giving advance notice of such planned railbanking to the House and Senate Committees on Transportation when the General Assembly is in session, and when the General Assembly is not in session, to the Joint Transportation Oversight Committee. The Agency, on behalf of the State, shall continue to hold the right-of-way of a railbanked line for reactivation of railroad service or for other public purposes not inconsistent with future reactivation of railroad service. Such railbanking shall not be treated, for purposes of any law or rule of law, as an abandonment of the use of the rights-of-way for railroad purposes.

  (b) The Secretary may enter into agreements with units of federal, state, and local governments, as well as with responsible private persons, for interim use of the right-of-way of a railbanked line, provided that the interim use is not inconsistent with future reactivation of railroad service.

  (c) The Secretary may, after consulting with municipalities, adopt rules governing the interim trail use of State-owned railroad rights-of-way that have been placed in railbanked status. Signs indicating the rules shall be conspicuously posted in or near all areas affected. Any person who violates these rules shall be subject to a penalty of not more than $300.00. (Added 1987, No. 211 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 26, 1988; amended 1993, No. 211 (Adj. Sess.), § 10, eff. June 17, 1994; 2009, No. 123 (Adj. Sess.), § 37.)

• § 3409. Delegation

  The Secretary, from time to time, may delegate to officers or employees of the Agency his or her authority under this chapter or under any uncodified laws pertaining to State-owned railroads. (Added 1987, No. 211 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 26, 1988.)