The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 5: Aeronautics and Surface Transportation Generally

Chapter 062: Powers and Duties of Board Relating to Railroads

• § 3451. Supervision and inspection

  The Transportation Board shall have general supervision of all railroads within this State and of corporations, receivers, trustees, directors, lessees, and other persons owning or operating the same, so far as may be necessary to enable it to perform the duties and exercise the powers conferred upon it. In accordance with chapter 3 of this title, the Board and the Agency, in the performance of their respective duties, shall have power to require the production and examination of books, accounts, and papers; require the production of witnesses; and inspect lines, offices, stations, and other facilities. (Amended 1959, No. 329 (Adj. Sess.), § 39(b), eff. March 1, 1961; 1993, No. 172 (Adj. Sess.), § 39.)

• § 3452. Disclosure of information

  (a) When requested to do so by the Board or the Agency, a railroad operating in this State shall furnish the Board or Agency any information specifically requested concerning the management of the railroad and the condition of its equipment and facilities, provided that the request shall extend only to information reasonably related to the railroad’s operations in this State and provided further that the Board and the Agency shall have no right to request information regarding salaries, pensions, options, or benefit programs or the expenses of officers or directors of railroads incorporated outside the United States.

  (b) Any information provided by a railroad to the Board or Agency on the following subjects, whether pursuant to this section or otherwise, shall be confidential and shall not be disclosed by the Board or the Agency except as provided in subsection (c) of this section:

  (1) customer data;

  (2) compensation and benefits for a railroad’s directors, officers, and employees;

  (3) contracts, financial obligations, and financial standing; and

  (4) proprietary data known only to certain individuals within a railroad’s organization and that give the railroad the opportunity to obtain business advantage over competitors who do not know it.

  (c) Confidential information may be made public by the Board or the Agency only if the Board first determines that the public good requires disclosure and that the disclosure will not violate State or federal law. The Board shall give the railroad written notice and shall afford the railroad an opportunity to be heard prior to making any determination that disclosure should be made and shall make written findings of fact upon which its determination is made.

  (d) Nothing contained in this title or in any provision of Title 19 shall be construed to require a railroad to produce an investigatory report or other information that was prepared by a railroad, its agents, or its employees at the request or direction of a railroad’s attorney, nor shall anything contained in this title or any provision of Title 19 be construed to abrogate the attorney-client privilege as is otherwise provided by law. (Amended 1959, No. 329 (Adj. Sess.), § 39(b), eff. March 1, 1961; 1961, No. 183, § 6; 1993, No. 172 (Adj. Sess.), § 40.)

• § 3453. Report of accidents

  A railroad shall report accidents to the Agency under the same circumstances and in the same manner as provided by federal law for reporting accidents to the Federal Railroad Administration. If an accident results in loss of life, serious personal injury, property damage in excess of $10,000.00, or an interruption of service in excess of 12 hours, it shall be reported as soon as practicable and in no event later than the next working day to the Secretary of Transportation or the Secretary’s designee. (Amended 1959, No. 329 (Adj. Sess.), § 39(b), eff. March 1, 1961; 1993, No. 172 (Adj. Sess.), § 41.)

• § 3454. Investigation of accidents; hearing; determination; publicity

  The Board shall inquire into the cause of every accident on a railroad resulting in loss of life and, in its judgment, into any accident, collision, or derailment of trains not so resulting. When, in its judgment, a public investigation is necessary in the interest of public safety, it shall fix a time and place of holding the same and shall summon the person operating the railroad, the parties known to have been injured in the accident, and, if known, a representative or friend of an individual killed in the accident, to appear and give evidence regarding the cause of the accident. The Board shall also notify the State’s Attorney of the county in which the accident occurred, who shall investigate the cause of the accident, produce witnesses who can give evidence in regard to the same, and attend and represent the State at the hearing. All parties summoned, and other persons interested, may appear and be made parties thereto, may produce witnesses or other evidence, and may be represented by counsel. On notice from the Board, the person operating the railroad shall produce all railroad employees who can give pertinent evidence in regard to the cause of the accident, free of expense to the State. The Board shall make public its determination in regard to the cause of the accident so investigated and cause a permanent record of its determination to be made. (Amended 1959, No. 329 (Adj. Sess.), § 39(b), eff. March 1, 1961; 2017, No. 132 (Adj. Sess.), § 4; 2021, No. 105 (Adj. Sess.), § 23, eff. July 1, 2022.)

• § 3455. Unlawful acts; petitions to Board; hearings

  In a matter over which the Board has jurisdiction, a person that claims to be injured by the unlawful action or neglect of a railroad in this State may commence proceedings by petition to the Board, with a copy to the Agency, briefly setting forth the cause of complaint. The State’s Attorney of the county in which a matter arises, the Attorney General, the legislative body of a municipality, or any 10 freeholders of the county by such complaint may bring before the Board any matter in which they claim the public safety is endangered or the charter or statutory law regulating railroads is being violated. When it has information that any railroad in this State is operating in violation of its charter or of the statutory law, the Board shall call the same to the attention of the Attorney General or the State’s Attorney of the county where the matter arises. The Attorney General or the State’s Attorney shall inquire into the same and, if in that individual’s judgment the matter should be investigated, that individual shall bring the same before the Board by proper complaint. On receipt of the complaint, the Board shall summon the person or persons complained of to appear before it and to make answer to the complaint. When issue is taken to the facts set out in the complaint, the Board shall appoint a time and place for hearing the same in the county where the matter arises and shall then and there hear and determine the matter complained of. Nothing in this section shall be construed to empower the Board to award monetary damages to any person or entity, except as expressly provided by law. (Amended 1959, No. 329 (Adj. Sess.), § 39(b), eff. March 1, 1961; 1993, No. 172 (Adj. Sess.), § 42; 2021, No. 105 (Adj. Sess.), § 24, eff. July 1, 2022.)

• § 3456. Jurisdiction

  Without affecting special provisions of law relating to matters contained in this section, the Board shall have jurisdiction on due notice to hear, determine, render judgment, and make orders and decrees in all matters provided for in the charter of any railroad, or in the statutes of this State relating to railroads, and shall have like jurisdiction in all matters respecting:

  (1) the crossing of one railroad by another;

  (2) highway grade crossings and signs, signals, gates, or flaggers at the same;

  (3) the construction and maintenance of proper fences, cattle guards, and farm crossings;

  (4) to the extent not preempted by federal law, and in order to accommodate the public and ensure safety and compliance with the law:

  (A) the maintenance of the tracks, frogs, switches, gates, signals, culverts, bridges, and other structures over openings; and

  (B) rolling stock and equipment;

  (5) the connections, time, and times of connection between connecting roads for the accommodation of the traveling public and the transportation of merchandise;

  (6) the manner of operating railroads and conducting the business thereof so as to be reasonable and expedient and to promote the security, convenience, and accommodation of the public and to prevent violations of law and unjust discriminations, usurpations, or extortions; and

  (7) any impediment alongside or adjacent to the rights-of-way of railroads, including damaged structures, that imperils the safe passage of trains. (Amended 1959, No. 329 (Adj. Sess.), § 39(b), eff. March 1, 1961; 1981, No. 166 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 1993, No. 172 (Adj. Sess.), § 43; 2017, No. 132 (Adj. Sess.), § 5.)

• § 3457. Commencement of proceedings; expedited proceedings

  (a) Proceedings under section 3456 of this title may be commenced by motion of the Board by petition of the Agency, the Attorney General, the State’s Attorney of the county, the legislative body of a municipality, 10 or more freeholders of the State, any railroad doing business in the State, or in such way as the law may otherwise specifically provide.

  (b) Proceedings involving damaged structures or other impediments alongside or adjacent to the rights-of-way of railroads that imminently imperil the safety of the passage of trains shall be commenced immediately upon notice of the peril to the Board or the Agency. Upon notice, the Board or the Agency shall immediately investigate and, if it is determined that such danger does exist and cannot be timely removed through informal negotiation, order the owner of the structure or other impediment to immediately take all action necessary to abate the danger. If the owner fails to do so, or is unavailable, the Board or the Agency may, without incurring any civil liability, take all steps necessary to abate the danger, including removal of the damaged structure or other impediment, and all incurred expenses shall constitute a debt due the State upon the rendering of an account for all incurred expenses to the owner and shall be recoverable from the owner in an action. Expenses incurred by the Board or the Agency may be drawn from the Transportation Fund, and any amounts recovered shall be credited to the Transportation Fund. (Amended 1959, No. 329 (Adj. Sess.), § 39(b), eff. March 1, 1961; 1981, No. 166 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 1993, No. 172 (Adj. Sess.), § 44; 2021, No. 105 (Adj. Sess.), § 25, eff. July 1, 2022.)

• § 3458. Planning

  (a) The Agency shall be the authorized Agency of the State for participation in and the receipt of grants and assistance through federal rail assistance legislation and may receive such grants notwithstanding the provisions of 32 V.S.A. § 5.

  (b) The Agency shall establish a State plan for rail transportation and local rail services that shall provide for the equitable distribution of funds received, including federal grants or loans, among State, local, and regional transportation authorities.

  (c) The Agency shall administer any plan developed pursuant to subsection (b) of this section and shall have authority and administrative jurisdiction to develop, promote, supervise, and support adequate, safe, and efficient rail services. (Added 1973, No. 182 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. March 29, 1974; amended 1993, No. 172 (Adj. Sess.), § 45.)