CHAPTER 1. INTERURBAN RAILROADS
IC 8-5
ARTICLE 5. COMMUTER RAILWAYS
IC 8-5-1
Chapter 1. Interurban Railroads
IC 8-5-1-1
Powers and duties; enumeration
Sec. 1. Any street railroad company organized before or after
March 11, 1901, under Indiana statutes and desiring to construct or
acquire, or having before March 11, 1901, constructed or acquired,
any street railroad, interurban street railroad, or suburban street
railroad, shall, in addition to the rights, privileges, and powers given
and granted by statute before March 11, 1901, to street railroad
companies, possess the general powers and be subject to the
liabilities and restrictions expressed in the special powers following:
First, to cause such examination and surveys for the proposed
railroad to be made as may be necessary to the selection of the
most advantageous route for the railroad, and, for such
purposes, by their officers, agents, and servants, to enter upon
the lands or waters of any person, but subject to responsibility
for all damages which they shall do thereto.
Second, to receive, hold, and take such voluntary grants and
donations of real estate and other personal property as shall be
made to it to aid in the construction, maintenance, and
accommodation of such railroad; but the real estate thus
received by voluntary grants shall be held and used for the
purpose of such grants only.
Third, to purchase, or by voluntary grants and donations, or by
the special proceedings provided in this chapter, receive,
acquire, and take, and by its officers, engineers, surveyors, and
agents enter upon, take possession of, hold, and use, all such
lands and real estate and other property as may be necessary for
the construction, maintenance, and operation of its railroads,
railroad stations, depots, powerhouses, shops, carbarns, offices,
lines for transmission of electricity for heat, light, and power for
such companies or the public, which transmission lines may be
on the line of said railroad or elsewhere, as such company may
desire, and other accommodations necessary to accomplish the
objects for which the corporation is created, but not until the
compensation to be made therefor, as agreed upon by the parties
or ascertained as provided in this chapter, shall have been paid
to the owner or owners thereof or deposited as in this chapter
directed, unless the consent of such owner be given to enter into
possession.
Fourth, to lay out its road or any part thereof, not exceeding
four (4) rods wide, and to construct, maintain, and operate the
same, and for the purpose of cuttings, embankments, and
procuring stone and gravel, it may take as much more lands,
which lands if taken for stone or gravel may be adjacent to the
line of said road or elsewhere, in the manner provided in this
chapter, as its directors may deem necessary for the proper
construction and security of the road.
Fifth, to construct its road across any stream of water,
watercourse, road, highway, railroad, or canal, so as not to
interfere with the free use of the same, which the route of its
road shall intersect, in such manner as to afford security for life
and property, and, with the consent of the authorities of the
proper county, town, or city, on any street, road, or highway,
but the corporation shall restore the stream or watercourse,
street, road, or highway to its former state, or in a sufficient
manner not to unnecessarily impair its usefulness or injure its
franchises. And in case such street railroad company shall cross
the tracks of any other street railroad company or any railroad
company, if the two (2) corporations can not agree upon the
amount of compensation to be made therefor, the same shall be
ascertained and determined by commissioners to be appointed
as is provided in this chapter in respect to the taking of lands;
provided, however, that such rights as street railroad companies
may have under statutes existing on March 11, 1901, without
agreement with the company to be crossed, and without
resorting to the special proceedings prescribed in this chapter,
to construct, maintain, and operate their street railroads,
interurban street railroads, or suburban street railroads across
any railroad or street railroad on any street, road, or highway on
which such street railroad companies may be legally authorized
to operate, shall not be diminished or impaired by anything in
this chapter contained.
Sixth, to maintain and operate, and to that end to construct,
purchase, lease, or otherwise acquire, and own or control, street
railroad, interurban street railroad, or suburban street railroad
lines and systems, constructed or in process of construction, or
any part or parts thereof, and property appertaining thereto or
to be used in connection therewith, in, through, between and
connecting the towns and cities, or any of them, named in its
articles of association, or those of its constituent companies, or
which lines and systems, or part or parts thereof, connect, or
will connect, with its lines and system of street railroad
interurban street railroad or suburban street railroad, and to
take, transport, carry, and convey passengers and property on its
said railroad lines and systems by such force as it is permitted
to use for such purpose, and to receive tolls and compensation
therefor.
Seventh, to erect and maintain all necessary and convenient
buildings, stations, depots, fixtures, and machinery for the
accommodation and use of its business, and to obtain and hold
the lands necessary therefor.
Eighth, to regulate the time and manner in which passengers
and property shall be transported, and the tolls and
compensation to be paid therefor; provided, however, that
nothing contained in this chapter shall take away from the
towns and cities the power to regulate and fix the tolls and
compensation for such transportation within such cities and
towns, as a condition to the grant of the right to operate therein;
and nothing in this chapter shall be construed to give any street
railroad company the right to construct or operate a railroad in
any city or town without first getting the consent of the proper
authorities of the city or town to such construction and
operation.
Ninth, if, at any time after the location or construction, in whole
or in part, of such street railroad, interurban street railroad, or
suburban street railroad, it shall appear to a majority of the
directors of such company that the line of such railroad is
unnecessarily dangerous, inconvenient, or expensive to operate
by reason of grades, curves, or other physical conditions
affecting the construction, maintenance, or operation of such
road, or that, for any other reason, the location of such street
railroad, interurban street railroad, or suburban street railroad
should be changed, it may make alterations in its line and route,
and for that purpose may enter upon, take, and hold the real
estate necessary therefor in the manner and by the special
proceedings prescribed in this chapter.
Tenth, to make such changes in the grade or the line of
highways as it may be directed or permitted to make by the
proper county commissioners, with the view to the safety or the
convenience of the public, or the better alignment or
construction of such railroad, and to take by the special
proceedings described in this chapter such lands as may be
necessary for such changes.
(Formerly: Acts 1901, c.207, s.1; Acts 1903, c.36, s.1.) As amended
by P.L.62-1984, SEC.91.
IC 8-5-1-2
Crossings; construction
Sec. 2. Where it becomes necessary for the track or trolley-wires
of one (1) street railroad company to cross the track or trolley-wires
of another street railroad company or the track of any railroad
company the company owning the road last constructed at such
crossing shall, unless otherwise agreed to between such companies,
be at the exclusive expense of constructing such crossing in a manner
to be convenient and safe for both companies.
(Formerly: Acts 1901, c.207, s.2.)
IC 8-5-1-3
Crossings; maintenance
Sec. 3. Whenever such railroad crossing is constructed in the
manner provided for in the preceding section, it shall be the duty of
each company respectively to maintain and keep in repair its own
track, so as at all times to provide a ready, safe and convenient
crossing for all locomotives, trains or cars passing on either road at
such point.
(Formerly: Acts 1901, c.207, s.3.)