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2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 160 - Railroads › Section 89 - Description of Locations of Railroads; Rules and Regulations

Section 89. The department shall, from time to time, prescribe rules relative to the form in which all descriptions of locations of railroads shall be made, the particulars to be contained therein and the manner in which such descriptions shall be uniformly kept for preservation and convenient reference in the offices of the clerks of the commissioners of the several counties. No such description shall be filed until the clerk of the department certifies thereon that it has been prepared in conformity with the rules of the department.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 160 - Railroads › Section 91 - Eminent Domain; Order Securing Landowners

Section 91. At the time of awarding damages to landowners under chapter seventy-nine, the county commissioners shall in addition thereto order the corporation to construct and maintain such embankments, culverts, walls, fences or other structures as they judge reasonable for the security and benefit of such owners, and shall prescribe the time and manner of making or repairing them, and it shall not be competent for a jury to reverse such order.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 160 - Railroads › Section 92 - Enforcement of Order Securing Landowners

Section 92. If the corporation neglects to comply with such order, the supreme judicial court, upon application of the landowner interested in its execution, or his assigns, shall have jurisdiction in equity to enforce the specific performance thereof. Or if the corporation, for more than forty-eight hours after written notice of such neglect, given to the president or superintendent, fails to begin the work required to be done, or thereafter unreasonably delays to complete it, the person so interested may recover in tort double the damages sustained by him by reason of the neglect.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 160 - Railroads › Section 93 - Fences and Gates Along Length of Railroad

Section 93. Every railroad corporation shall erect and maintain suitable fences, with convenient bars, gates or openings therein, upon both sides of the entire length of its railroad, except at the crossings of a public way or in places where the convenient use of the railroad would be thereby obstructed, and except at places where, and so long as, it is specially exempted from so doing by the department. Such an exemption granted prior to August first, eighteen hundred and eighty-two shall not be revoked except upon new proceedings had under this section, notice of which shall be given to the corporation, and published once in each of three successive weeks in a newspaper published in each county where the land lies. The corporation shall also construct and maintain sufficient barriers, where necessary and practicable so to do, to prevent the entrance of cattle upon the railroad. A corporation which unreasonably neglects to comply with this and the following section shall, for every such neglect, forfeit not more than two hundred dollars for every month during which the neglect continues, and upon such neglect the supreme judicial court may restrain and prohibit it from crossing a public way, or from using any land until said sections are complied with.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 160 - Railroads › Section 93a - Fences Along Railroad Tracks in Cities and Towns

Section 93A. If the mayor of a city or the selectmen of a town where a railroad corporation is authorized to lay and use tracks are of the opinion that the public safety requires the erection of a fence along such tracks, they may apply to the department, which shall, after public notice, hear all persons interested, and if it decides that the erection of a fence along such tracks is necessary for the public safety, it shall prescribe the manner in and the limits within which it shall be done, and shall forthwith certify and transmit its decision to the railroad corporation and all parties in interest.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 160 - Railroads › Section 94 - Recovery by Railroad From Person Required to Fence

Section 94. If a person other than a railroad corporation is required by law or contract to erect or maintain fences along a part of the line of the railroad, the corporation shall erect such fences or keep them in repair as provided in the preceding section, and may recover in contract the reasonable cost thereof from such person. If he is an owner of land adjoining such line, the corporation shall also have a lien upon said land for labor performed and furnished and all materials furnished and used by it in erecting and repairing such fences upon such land, and for the costs which may arise in enforcing it; and it shall be enforced in the manner provided for enforcing liens for labor in chapter two hundred and fifty-four.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 160 - Railroads › Section 95 - Grade Separation of Railroad Tracks by Agreement

Section 95. If two or more railroad corporations whose tracks cross each other at the same level agree to separate the grades, they may apply to the department which shall thereupon determine when, in what manner and by which corporation said work and each portion thereof shall be done, and shall apportion all charges and expenses caused by making such alterations and all future charges for keeping the necessary structures connected therewith in repair, among said corporations. For said purposes, the corporations may, under the direction of the department, make all necessary changes in the location, grade and construction of said railroads, and, so far as necessary, may take additional land therefor by eminent domain under chapter seventy-nine and may raise, lower or otherwise change any and all public ways; and in the exercise of said powers said corporations, and any person who sustains damage thereby, shall have all the rights, privileges and remedies, and be subject to all the duties, liabilities and restrictions provided by law in the case of land taken by railroad corporations.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 160 - Railroads › Section 96 - Consent for One Railroad to Cross Another or to Cross Navigable Water

Section 96. A railroad shall not be constructed across another railroad at the same level without the written consent of the department, nor across navigable or tide waters without the written consent of the department of highways, and in such manner as said departments, respectively, shall prescribe, nor across any portion of the deep channel of Boston harbor below the bridges existing on March thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-one, without special legislative authority. Any littoral proprietor whose access to the sea is obstructed or interrupted by the location and construction, after said date, of any railroad across tide water, otherwise than by a bridge with a suitable draw, may recover of the corporation whose railroad is so located all damages, caused by such location and construction, under chapter seventy-nine, but this provision as to damages shall not apply to any railroad constructed under chapter two hundred and fifty-two of the acts of eighteen hundred and eighty. Associates for the purpose of constructing a railroad under section thirteen, or a corporation which proceeds to construct its railroad or branch or extension thereof, shall not take proceedings which involve a new crossing of one railroad by another at the same level, unless such crossing is first approved in writing by the department; and every preliminary approval of a plan for such crossing shall be subject to revision by the department.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 160 - Railroads › Section 97 - Highway Crossings; Obstructions; Grade Separations

Section 97. A railroad laid out across a public way shall be so constructed as not to obstruct the same; and, unless the county commissioners and the department authorize a crossing at the same level as provided in section one hundred and two, it shall be constructed so as to pass either over or under the way, as prescribed in the following section, and conformably to any decree which may be made by the county commissioners under section one hundred.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 160 - Railroads › Section 98 - Over-Passes and Under-Passes; Height

Section 98. If the railroad is constructed to pass over the way, a sufficient space shall be left under the railroad conveniently to accommodate the travel on the way. If the railroad is constructed to pass under the way, the railroad corporation shall build such bridges, with their abutments and suitable approaches thereto, as will accommodate the travel upon the way; but no bridge for any purpose shall be constructed over a railroad at a height less than twenty-two feet six inches above the track of such railroad, except with the written consent of the department.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 160 - Railroads › Section 99 - Material Used to Surface Bridges and Approaches

Section 99. Cities and towns may make agreements with railroad corporations in regard to the kind of material, form of construction and payment of the cost of the wearing surface of bridges and approaches over or under a public way, wherever the railroad company is required by law to maintain such surface.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 160 - Railroads › Section 100 - Alteration of Grade of Highway; Decree of County Commissioners; Security

Section 100. A railroad corporation may raise or lower a public way to permit its railroad to pass over or under the same; but before proceeding to cross or to alter or excavate for the purpose of crossing the way, it shall obtain from the county commissioners a decree prescribing what alterations may be made in the way, and what structures erected at the crossing, and the manner and time of making or erecting the same; and before entering upon, excavating or altering the way, it shall give to the city or town where the crossing is situated security, satisfactory to the commissioners, that it will faithfully comply with the requirements of the decree to their acceptance, and will indemnify the city or town against all damages and charges by reason of a failure so to do.
If, upon the petition of the board of aldermen or selectmen, it appears that such corporation has excavated or altered a public way without obtaining the decree and giving the security required by this section, or has neglected for fifteen days to give security as required by section one hundred and six, the supreme judicial court may enjoin it from entering upon, altering, excavating or crossing the way until such decree has been obtained or such security given.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 160 - Railroads › Section 101 - Alteration of Course of Highway; Decree of County Commissioners; Security; Eminent Domain

Section 101. A railroad corporation may alter the course of a public way to facilitate the crossing thereof by its railroad or to permit its railroad to pass at the side thereof without crossing, if, after notice to the city or town where the way is situated, and a hearing, the county commissioners decide that such alteration will not essentially injure the way, and make a decree prescribing the time and manner of such alteration. If it is necessary to take land for such alteration, the county commissioners shall take the same by eminent domain under chapter seventy-nine on behalf of the county, city or town having jurisdiction over the alteration of such way, and before entering upon, excavating or altering such way the corporation shall give to such county, city or town security satisfactory to the commissioners that it will indemnify such county, city or town for all damages and charges which it is obliged to pay by reason of such taking.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 160 - Railroads › Section 102 - Level Grade Crossing of Highway

Section 102. If a railroad is laid out across a public way, the county commissioners, or the department of highways in the case of a state highway, upon the application of the railroad corporation, or of the board of aldermen of the city or selectmen of the town where the crossing is situated, after notice to all persons interested and a hearing, may adjudge that public necessity requires the crossing at the same level, and may, if the department also consents in writing to such crossing at the same level, make a decree specially to authorize and require the corporation so to construct its railroad, in such manner as shall be prescribed in the decree, and the commissioners, or the department of public works in the case of a state highway, may modify such decree or may revoke it at any time before the construction of the railroad at such crossing.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 160 - Railroads › Section 103 - Level Grade Crossing; Rails Protected to Enable Easy Passage

Section 103. A railroad corporation whose railroad is crossed by a public way at the same level shall, at its own expense, so guard or protect its rails by plank, timber or otherwise as to secure a safe and easy passage across its railroad; and if, in the opinion of the county commissioners, any subsequent alteration of the highway or other way or additional safeguards are required at the crossing, they may make a decree ordering the corporation to establish the same as provided in section one hundred.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 160 - Railroads › Section 104 - Proceedings to Lay Out Public Way Across Railroad

Section 104. A public way may be laid out across a railroad previously constructed, if the county commissioners, or the department of highways in the case of a state highway, adjudge that public necessity and convenience so require; and in such case, after notice to the railroad corporation and a hearing of all parties interested, said commissioners or division, or a city or town by authority of the county commissioners granted upon petition of its board of aldermen or selectmen, may thus lay out a way across a railroad, in such manner as not to injure or obstruct the railroad, and otherwise in conformity with sections ninety-seven and ninety-eight. A public way shall not be permitted to cross at a level with the railroad unless it is determined by the department of highways, in the case of a state highway, or the county commissioners, in the case of any other public way, after notice to all persons interested and a hearing, that public necessity so requires, and the department of telecommunications and energy consents thereto in writing. If it is necessary in the laying out, construction or alteration of a state highway across a railroad to alter or relocate the railroad, the department of highways may take by eminent domain under chapter seventy-nine, on behalf of the railroad corporation, land or rights in land necessary for such alteration or relocation with the written approval of the department of telecommunications and energy. Charges and expenses for such alteration or relocation shall be paid by the department of highways. A copy of the proceedings of the department of highways in laying out a state highway under this section, including a copy of the plan of so much of said way as lies within the location of the railroad, shall be filed in the office of the county commissioners of the county where such way is located.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 160 - Railroads › Section 104a - Building, Equipment or Machinery Moving; Duty of Railroad; Reimbursement of Costs

Section 104A. Whenever a person wishes to move a building, equipment or machinery over the right of way of a railroad corporation at the location of the crossing of said right of way and a public way and such movement will require the cutting, disconnecting or removal of any of the wires owned, operated or maintained by said railroad corporation in connection with its business, said railroad corporation shall forthwith cut, disconnect or remove the same, if such person has sent a written statement, signed by him, of the time when and the place, described by reference to such crossing, where he wishes such wires to be removed, and mailed, postage prepaid, to said corporation at least ten days before the time mentioned in said statement. Such person shall reimburse the railroad corporation for all costs incurred in connection with such movement, including the cost of protecting the trains, equipment and other property of the railroad corporation at the location, and the costs of cutting, disconnecting or removing the wires and replacing the same.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 160 - Railroads › Section 105 - Alteration of Course of Canal

Section 105. A railroad corporation may, with the consent of a canal corporation, alter the course of a canal or of a feeder to a canal, which interferes with the convenient location of its railroad. If it is necessary to take land for such alteration, the railroad corporation may take the same under chapter seventy-nine and shall immediately convey the property so taken to the canal corporation.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 160 - Railroads › Section 106 - Remedy of Obstruction or for Failure to Repair

Section 106. If, upon application to the county commissioners by the board of aldermen or selectmen, and after notice to the corporation which owns or operates a railroad, and a hearing, it appears that the railroad so crosses a public way other than a state highway as to obstruct it, contrary to section ninety-seven, or to a decree made under section one hundred, or that the corporation refuses or neglects to keep a bridge or other structure required or necessary at such crossing in proper repair, the county commissioners may make a decree prescribing what repairs shall be made by the corporation at the crossing, and the time within which they shall be made. A commission of three disinterested persons, appointed as provided in section sixty-two of chapter one hundred and fifty-nine, shall determine which party shall carry such decision into effect and which party shall pay the charges and expenses of making such repairs and the future charges for keeping such bridge or crossing and the approaches thereto in repair, as well as the costs of the application to the county commissioners, or the department, and of the hearing before said commission; and it may apportion all such charges, expenses and costs between the railroad corporation, the railway company having tracks on said way, and the counties, cities or towns where said crossing is situated and other cities and towns which may be specially benefited; provided, that the parties in interest may waive the appointment of the commission and determine the foregoing by written agreement to be filed in the proceeding. If a railway company is authorized to lay and use tracks upon any bridge in a highway built, repaired or altered as above provided for, or the approaches to which are altered or improved as above provided for, the said commission shall determine what part of the charges and expenses of making such changes or improvements, or of keeping such bridge or crossing and approaches in good condition, shall be paid by said railway company. They may further order the corporation to give security, as provided in section one hundred, for the faithful performance of the requirements of the decree and for the indemnity of the city or town upon a failure in such performance.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 160 - Railroads › Section 107 - Construction and Repair of Bridges, Approaches and Abutments

Section 107. Every railroad corporation shall, except as provided in sections sixty-five to eighty-two, inclusive, of chapter one hundred and fifty-nine, at its own expense, construct, maintain and keep in repair all bridges, with their approaches and abutments, which it is authorized or required to construct over or under a canal or public way; and a city or town may recover of the railroad corporation whose railroad crosses a public way therein all damages, charges and expenses incurred by such city or town by reason of the neglect or refusal of the corporation to erect or keep in repair all structures required or necessary at such crossing; but if, after the laying out and building of a railroad, the county commissioners authorize a public way to be laid out across the railroad, all expenses of and incident to constructing and maintaining the way at such crossing shall be borne by the county, city, town or other owner of the same, unless otherwise determined by an award of a commission, under proceedings in accordance with sections fifty-nine to sixty-four, inclusive, of chapter one hundred and fifty-nine.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 160 - Railroads › Section 109 - Separation of Private Land; Order of Commissioners Relative to Crossing

Section 109. If a railroad lawfully laid out through land without the consent of the owner thereof separates a portion of such land from another or from a public way, and the owner, having a right to cross the railroad, cannot agree with the corporation as to the place or manner in which he shall cross, or if a crossing is inconvenient, either party, in a case which does not involve the abolition of a crossing at grade, may apply to the county commissioners, who, after taking a recognizance from the applicant to the county, with sureties to their satisfaction, for the payment of costs and expenses according to their order, and after notice to the other party and a hearing, may make an order relative to such crossing and to the costs of the application; but they shall not order the corporation to construct or maintain a crossing without its consent, unless it is liable by law or by agreement to construct a crossing for the owner of the land, or is the applicant.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 160 - Railroads › Section 110 - Denial of Access to Private Land; Order for Crossing by Department

Section 110. If by the laying out of a railroad, or the widening thereof, a person is cut off from access to land owned by him, and has neither received compensation nor made an agreement with the corporation relative thereto, the department, after notice to the parties and a hearing, may order a crossing to be made and maintained at the expense of the railroad corporation, specifying definitely the character thereof and when it may be used. If the railroad corporation neglects for ninety days after the date of such order to comply therewith, it shall forfeit five dollars for every day thereafter during which such neglect continues, which shall be recovered by the person aggrieved. The amount recovered shall be equally divided between the plaintiff and the county where the crossing was ordered to be maintained.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 160 - Railroads › Section 111 - Decisions of Commissioners; Appeal

Section 111. A party aggrieved by a decision or order of the county commissioners in any matter or proceeding arising under section one hundred and nine, or section fifty-nine of chapter one hundred and fifty-nine, or by their unreasonable refusal or neglect to announce a decision in any such matter or proceeding for sixty days after the first day fixed for a hearing thereon, may appeal to the department by filing a notice of appeal with the county commissioners within ten days after the decision or order appealed from, or in case of a refusal or neglect to announce a decision, within ten days after the expiration of sixty days from the first day fixed for a hearing thereon. The proceedings before the county commissioners in which the appeal is taken shall thereupon be stayed.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 160 - Railroads › Section 112 - Proceedings Perfecting Appeal

Section 112. The appellant, to perfect the appeal, shall, within twenty days after filing the notice thereof, file with the clerk of the department a petition stating the reasons for the appeal, and shall, within ten days after filing the petition, cause a certified copy thereof to be served upon the county commissioners. An appeal may be waived at any time before a hearing thereon by written agreement of the parties, filed with the county commissioners and the department. If the appellant fails to perfect the appeal, or if the appeal is waived, the matter may proceed before the county commissioners as if no appeal had been taken.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 160 - Railroads › Section 113 - Appeal; Hearing; Department's Powers

Section 113. The department shall hear the appeal in the county where it is taken, unless the parties in writing otherwise agree. Upon such appeal, the department shall have the same powers and perform the same duties as county commissioners in like matters and proceedings, and shall be governed by the provisions of law relative to hearings and determinations by, and decisions and orders of, the county commissioners in such matters and proceedings.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 160 - Railroads › Section 115 - Construction; Additional Capital Stock; Certificate of Necessity and Convenience; Fee

Section 115. A railroad corporation, after having finished the construction of its railroad and put it in operation, may build a branch or extension thereof in accordance with this chapter, if an amount of additional capital stock, applicable solely to the construction of such branch or extension, has been subscribed, and a certificate of the department that public necessity and convenience require the construction of the branch or extension has been obtained, and a certificate of the clerk of the department has been filed according to section seventy-six; and it may build such branch or extension without additional capital stock, if its indebtedness is not thereby increased; but this section shall not invalidate a lease or contract between railroad corporations made pursuant to law. Upon the filing of such certificate, fifty dollars shall be paid to the state secretary. If the construction of such branch or extension is not begun, and ten per cent of the additional capital stock is not expended thereon within two years after the date of the certificate required by section seventy-six and the branch or extension completed and put in operation within four years after said date, the power of the railroad corporation to construct the same shall cease.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 160 - Railroads › Section 116 - Switch Connections With Private Interests

Section 116. A railroad corporation, upon the application of any shipper tendering freight for transportation, shall construct, maintain and operate upon reasonable terms switch connections with a lateral line of railroad or private side track owned, operated or controlled by such shipper and shall, upon the application of any shipper, provide upon its own property a side track and switch connection with its line of railroad, whenever such side track and switch connection are reasonably practicable, can be put in with safety, and the business therefor is sufficient to justify the same.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 160 - Railroads › Section 117 - Order for Switch Connection by Department

Section 117. If any railroad corporation fails to install or operate any such switch connection with a lateral line of railroad or any such side track and switch connection as aforesaid, after written application therefor has been made to it, any person interested may present the facts to the department by written petition, and the department shall investigate the matters stated in such petition, and give such hearing thereon as it may deem necessary or proper. If the department deems it safe and practicable to have a connection, substantially as prayed for, established or maintained, and that the business to be done thereon justifies the construction and maintenance thereof, it shall make an order directing the construction and establishment thereof, specifying the reasonable compensation to be paid for the construction, establishment and maintenance thereof, and may in like manner upon the application of the railroad corporation order the discontinuance of such switch connection.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 160 - Railroads › Section 119 - Filing of Map and Profile, Tables of Grade and Curvature and Statement of Characteristics

Section 119. When a railroad or a branch or extension thereof is finished and opened for public use, the corporation by which it was constructed shall, within one year, file in the office of the state secretary a map and profile thereof, with tables of grade and curvature and a statement of the other characteristics of the railroad, certified by its president and engineer in such form as the department may prescribe.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 160 - Railroads › Section 121 - Position of Bridge When Not in Use

Section 121. Every such drawbridge shall be kept closed at all times, except while open for the actual passage of vessels. The draw tender shall at all hours of the day and night be ready to open the draw; shall decide, having regard to the convenient and secure passage of engines and trains and the state of the tide, when and in what order vessels may pass, allowing no unnecessary detention; and shall give all the necessary advice and furnish proper facilities for such passing.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 160 - Railroads › Section 122 - Passage of Vessels

Section 122. The master of a vessel applying to pass such draw shall give to the draw tender a true report of his vessel's draught, and of anything projecting below such vessel's draught, and shall be governed by him as to priority of right if two or more vessels apply at the same time to pass. In passing, he shall, unless otherwise directed by the draw tender, go to the right according to the tide, if practicable, and shall so place his warping-lines, anchors, cables and other rigging and equipment as neither to interfere with other vessels nor obstruct or injure the bridge; and he shall be allowed a reasonable time for his vessel to pass. A railroad train shall be allowed fifteen minutes to cross a draw before and after it is due by its time table, and any approaching train shall be allowed a further reasonable time to pass.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 160 - Railroads › Section 124 - Gates

Section 124. The railroad corporation may erect, at a distance of five hundred feet from every drawbridge, or at such other distance as may on its application be prescribed by the department, and on each side thereof, a substantial barrier, so constructed and connected with the draw by suitable mechanism, that the draw, when in position for the passage of trains, cannot be opened or moved until the barriers have been closed across the track in such manner as to be a warning to any train which approaches in either direction.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 160 - Railroads › Section 125 - Precautions Taken by Engineer

Section 125. If a drawbridge is not furnished with such barriers, and in all cases if by reason of darkness or otherwise the barriers or signals connected with a drawbridge are not visible from the engine of an approaching passenger train, the engineer of such train shall bring it to a full stop at a distance of not less than three hundred nor more than eight hundred feet from the drawbridge, and, before proceeding, shall positively ascertain that the draw is properly closed for the passage of trains; except that if the drawbridge is between two railroad crossings at grade, within six hundred feet of each other, one stop only shall be required for such crossings and drawbridge.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 160 - Railroads › Section 126 - Violations; Penalty

Section 126. A railroad corporation which neglects to comply with sections one hundred and twenty-three and one hundred and twenty-five shall forfeit one hundred dollars for each day such neglect is continued; and an engineer or draw tender who violates any provision of said sections or any regulation established in conformity therewith for such drawbridge by the corporation by which he is employed shall forfeit one hundred dollars for each offence, which shall be recovered in the county where the offence is committed, to the use of the informer.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 160 - Railroads › Section 127 - Penalties

Section 127. Whoever violates any provisions of the seven preceding sections, shall, unless otherwise therein provided, forfeit not less than three nor more than fifty dollars. Whoever wilfully injures or defaces any such drawbridge or wharf or pier appurtenant thereto, or any railroad bridge, wharf or pier, shall forfeit not less than three nor more than fifty dollars. Whoever, without the consent of the draw tender, opens or wilfully obstructs the draw, or wilfully makes fast or moors any scow, raft or other vessel in such manner as to obstruct passage to or through said draw, or wilfully hinders a draw tender in the performance of his duties, shall forfeit not less than fifty nor more than one hundred dollars.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 160 - Railroads › Section 127a - Drawbridges; Department; Exemption of Railroad From Compliance With Law

Section 127A. The department of telecommunications and energy may exempt any railroad corporation or other person operating a railroad from compliance with any or all of the provisions of sections one hundred and twenty to one hundred and twenty-five, inclusive, as to any drawbridge upon its line which has not been opened for a period of five years or more.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 160 - Railroads › Section 128 - Abandonment of Passenger Station

Section 128. A railroad corporation which has established and maintained a passenger station throughout the year for five consecutive years at any point upon its railroad shall not abandon such station, unless it is relocated under the following section, nor substantially diminish the accommodation furnished by the stopping of trains thereat as compared with that furnished at other stations on the same railroad, except with the written approval of the department after notice posted in and on said station for a period of thirty days immediately preceding a public hearing thereon.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 160 - Railroads › Section 128a - Discontinuance of Passenger Service; Hearing; Notice; Decision of Department

Section 128A. A railroad corporation which has scheduled and operated a passenger train on a regular schedule for twelve consecutive months or more, except for holidays or interruptions caused by storms or other causes beyond its control, shall not discontinue the operation of such train or cut out more than ten per cent of its station stops, except with the written approval of the department after public hearing, notice of which hearing and proposed discontinuance shall be posted by the corporation at the stations involved for a period of fifteen days immediately preceding said public hearing. The department shall render a decision on its findings within a period of sixty days after said public hearing.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 160 - Railroads › Section 129 - Relocation of Passenger Stations and Freight Depots

Section 129. A railroad corporation may relocate passenger stations and freight depots, with the written approval of the department and of the board of aldermen of the city or the selectmen of the town where such stations or depots are situated.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 160 - Railroads › Section 131 - Compensation for Use of Station, Railroad or Grounds of One Company by Another

Section 131. If one railroad corporation occupies or uses, or has a right to occupy, enter upon and use, a station, railroad or grounds of another, or any portion thereof, the department, upon petition of either party, and after notice to the other, and a hearing, shall determine the compensation to be paid for such occupancy and use. Its award shall be binding upon the parties thereto for five years, and thereafter until it is revised or altered by the department, and upon the written request of a party affected thereby, filed within thirty days after the rendering thereof, the award shall be filed in the supreme judicial court which shall have jurisdiction to revise the same as if the award had been made by a commission appointed by said court.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 160 - Railroads › Section 131a - Application of Business Corporation to Acquire, Own and Operate Terminal Facilities; Notice; Hearing; Approval

Section 131A. Any corporation organized under chapter one hundred and fifty-six may apply to the department for an order qualifying the corporation to acquire, by purchase or otherwise, and to own and operate terminal facilities for steam, electric or other types of railroad. The corporation shall agree that its operations, when qualified hereunder, shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the department, and any operating agreements entered into in connection therewith shall be subject to the approval of the department as to their reasonableness. If the department finds, after a public hearing of which notice shall be given by publication in one or more newspapers in the city wherein the terminal is to be located, that the granting of the petition is in the public interest, it shall so certify by order which shall be filed with the state secretary and the corporation shall thereupon be qualified to own and operate the land, buildings and other property used for such railroad terminal facilities.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 160 - Railroads › Section 132 - Safety Switches

Section 132. Every switch laid in a railroad track used by passenger or mixed trains shall be a safety switch of a type approved in writing by the department. For each switch laid in violation of this section, the railroad corporation shall forfeit two hundred dollars, and the further sum of five dollars for each day such switch is maintained.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 160 - Railroads › Section 133 - Protection of Employees; Blocking of Frogs, Switches and Guard Rails

Section 133. The frogs, switches and guard rails, except guard rails on bridges, which are in or connected with the railroad tracks operated or used by any railroad corporation shall be kept so blocked by some method approved by the department as to prevent employees from being caught therein. A railroad corporation which violates this section shall be punished by a fine of not less than ten nor more than one hundred dollars.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 160 - Railroads › Section 133a - Switch Stands, Lighting

Section 133A. Every railroad corporation shall equip with proper lights or other approved or commonly used devices all switch stands in all yards owned and maintained by such railroad corporation in which trains or switching engines are generally operated during the hours of darkness, except at locations where, and so long as, it is specially exempted from so doing by the department. The provisions of this section shall not be applicable to switch stands or switches located in interlocking signal, automatic block signal or centralized traffic control territory. A railroad corporation which unreasonably neglects to comply with this section shall, for every such neglect, be punished by a fine of five dollars.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 160 - Railroads › Section 134a - Distance Between Sets of Tracks, Structures or Obstructions; Exemptions

Section 134A. Tracks in a yard or yard area owned and maintained by a corporation or company operating a railroad shall have a minimum distance between center lines of parallel tracks of not less than thirteen feet, plus one inch per degree of track curvature. The center line of any ladder track, or lead track, constructed parallel to any other adjacent track shall have a clearance of not less than seventeen feet from the center line of such other track. Platforms or buildings may be constructed or maintained at a minimum distance of five feet nine inches from the center line of the track adjacent to any such platforms or buildings, providing a clearance of not less than eight feet six inches, plus one inch per degree of track curvature, is maintained on the opposite side of such track to any fixed structure, or the track centers to an adjacent track are not less than thirteen feet, plus one inch per degree of track curvature.
No other structures or obstructions shall be maintained in such yard nearer than eight feet and six inches, plus one inch per degree of track curvature, from the center line of any track; provided, that signals and switch stands therein which are located between tracks and are three feet or less in height above the top of the rail may have a clearance of not less than six feet and six inches, plus one inch per degree of track curvature, from the center line of track where it is not practicable to provide the aforesaid clearance of eight feet and six inches. No bridges, viaducts or other obstructions shall be constructed, and so far as practicable, no bridges, viaducts or other obstructions shall be reconstructed over the tracks in a railroad yard at a height less than twenty-two feet and six inches measured from the top of the rail. Upon petition of any railroad corporation, the state department of highways, the metropolitan district commission, the county commissioners of any county, the selectmen of any town, the city manager of any city having a Plan D or E charter, or the mayor of any other city, the department of telecommunications and energy, after due notice and public hearing, may grant an exemption from any and all requirements of this section; provided, however, that any exemption so granted shall be limited to the specific location described in said petition; and provided, further, that the department of telecommunications and energy shall fix and prescribe reasonable regulations governing the location exempted.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 160 - Railroads › Section 135 - Stopping of Trains at Grade Crossings

Section 135. If two railroads cross each other at the same level, the engineer of every freight train and, if both railroads are used for passenger traffic, of every passenger train, upon approaching such crossing, shall stop his engine within five hundred feet therefrom, and shall not resume his course until signalled so to do, when he shall pass slowly over the crossing; but one stop shall be sufficient for all such crossings within six hundred feet of each other upon the same railroad. Every engineer who fails so to stop his engine shall forfeit one hundred dollars; and the corporation on whose railroad the offence is committed shall forfeit the further amount of three hundred dollars.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 160 - Railroads › Section 136 - Grade Crossings; Rules and Regulations

Section 136. The department shall make general regulations for all such crossings or special regulations for such particular crossings as it may designate, and in such detail as it may consider expedient; and the supreme judicial court may issue any processes necessary to secure the enforcement of such regulations, or, upon the petition of the department, may enjoin the running of trains on a railroad upon which any regulation relative to such crossing is not exactly observed. The approval of the department shall be required for a system of signals to be established and maintained in concert by corporations operating railroads which cross each other; but no such regulation or system of signals shall exempt a railroad upon or across which passenger trains are run from the requirements of the preceding section, unless a system of interlocking or automatic signals, approved in writing by the department, is adopted by both corporations.