N.Y. RRD Law § 17 — New York Code / Act RRD / Article 2 / Section 17
Acquisition of title to real property; additions, betterments and facilities
Status: in_force

§ 17. Acquisition of title to real property; additions, betterments\nand facilities.  All real property required by any railroad corporation\nfor the construction, maintenance and accommodation of its railroad\nshall be deemed to be required for a public use, and may be acquired by\nsuch corporation.  If the corporation is unable to agree for the\npurchase of any such real property, or of any right, interest or\neasement therein, required for any such purpose, or if the owner thereof\nshall be incapable of selling the same, or if after diligent search and\ninquiry the name and residence of any such owner cannot be ascertained,\nit shall have the right to acquire title thereto by condemnation. Every\nrailroad corporation shall have the power from time to time to make and\nuse upon or in connection with any railroad either owned or operated by\nit, such additions, betterments and facilities as may be necessary or\nconvenient for the better management, maintenance or operation of any\nsuch railroad, and shall have the right by purchase or by condemnation,\nto acquire any real property required therefor, and it shall also have\nthe right of condemnation in the following additional cases:\n  1. Where title to real property has been acquired, or attempted to be\nacquired, and has been found to be invalid or defective.\n  2. Where its railroad shall be lawfully in possession of a lessee,\nmortgagee, trustee or receiver, and additional real property shall be\nrequired for the purpose of running or operating such railroad.\n  3. Where it shall require for any railroad owned or operated by it any\nfurther rights to lands or the use of lands for additional main tracks\nor for branches, sidings, switches, or turn-outs or for connections or\nfor cut-offs or for shortening or straightening or improving the line or\ngrade of its road or any part thereof. Also where it shall require any\nfurther rights to lands or the use of lands for filling any structures\nof its road, or for constructing, widening or completing any of its\nembankments or roadbeds, by means of which greater safety or permanency\nmay be secured, and such land shall be contiguous to such railroad and\nreasonably accessible.\n  4. Where it shall require any further right to lands or to the use of\nlands for the flow of water occasioned by railroad embankments or\nstructures now in use, or hereafter rendered necessary, or for any other\npurpose necessary for the operation of such railroad, or for any right\nto take and convey water from any spring, pond, creek or river to such\nrailroad, for the uses and purposes thereof, together with the right to\nbuild or lay aqueducts or pipes for the purpose of conveying such water,\nand to take up, relay and repair the same, or for any right of way\nrequired for carrying away or diverting any water, stream or floods from\nsuch railroad for the purpose of protecting its road or for the purpose\nof preventing any embankment, excavation or structure of such railroad\nfrom injuring the property of any person who may be rendered liable to\ninjury thereby.\n  Waters commonly used for domestic, agricultural or manufacturing\npurposes, shall not be taken by condemnation to such an extent as to\ninjuriously interfere with such use in future. No railroad corporation\nshall have the right to acquire by condemnation any right or easement in\nor to any real property owned or occupied by any other railroad\ncorporation, except the right to intersect or cross the tracks and lands\nowned or held for right of way by such other corporation, without\nappropriating or affecting any lands owned or held for depots or\ngravel-beds.\n  Whenever any real property is required by any steam surface railroad\ncorporation, the lines of which within this state are situated wholly\nwithin a city of over one million inhabitants, for the purposes\nmentioned in this section, it shall be a condition precedent to the\nbringing, or, if heretofore brought, to the continuing of condemnation\nproceedings by any railroad corporation to acquire said real property\nthat it procure the consent of the commissioner to acquire such real\nproperty, and unless such consent is given and procured the said\nproperty shall not be condemned.  The last preceding requirement shall\napply to all proceedings pending at the time this amendment takes\neffect.\n