45 USC § 748 - Abandonments | Title 45 - Railroads | U.S. Code

USCPrelim is a preliminary release and may be subject to further revision before it is released again as a final version.

Current through Pub. L. 113-99. (See Public Laws for the current Congress.)

(a) General

The Corporation may, in accordance with this section, file with the Commission an application for a certificate of abandonment for any line which is part of the system of the Corporation. Any such application shall be governed by this section and shall not, except as specifically provided in this section, be subject to the provisions of chapter 109 of title 49.

(b) Applications for abandonment

Any application for abandonment that is filed by the Corporation under this section before December 1, 1981, shall be granted by the Commission within 90 days after the date such application is filed unless, within such 90-day period, an offer of financial assistance is made in accordance with subsection (d) of this section with respect to the line to be abandoned.

(c) Notice of insufficient revenues

(1) The Corporation may, prior to November 1, 1985, file with the Commission a notice of insufficient revenues for any line which is part of the system of the Corporation.

(2) At any time after the 90-day period beginning with the filing of a notice of insufficient revenues for a line, the Corporation may file an application for abandonment for such line. An application for abandonment that is filed by the Corporation under this subsection for a line for which a notice of insufficient revenues was filed under paragraph (1) shall be granted by the Commission within 90 days after the date such application is filed unless, within such 90-day period, an offer of financial assistance is made in accordance with subsection (d) of this section with respect to such line.

(d) Offers of financial assistance

(1) The provisions of section 10904 of title 49 (including the timing requirements of subsection (d) thereof) shall apply to any offer of financial assistance under subsection (b) or (c) of this section.

(2) The Corporation shall provide any person that intends to make an offer of financial assistance under subsection (b) or (c) of this section with such information as the Commission may require.

(e) Liquidation

(1) If any application for abandonment is granted under subsection (b) of this section, the Commission shall, as soon as practicable, appraise the net liquidation value of the line to be abandoned, and shall publish notice of such appraisal in the Federal Register.

(2) Appraisals made under paragraph (1) shall not be appealable.

(3)

(A) If, within 120 days after the date on which an appraisal is published in the Federal Register under paragraph (1), the Corporation receives a bona fide offer for the sale, for 75 percent of the amount at which the liquidation value of such line was appraised by the Commission, of the line to be abandoned, the Corporation shall sell such line and the Commission shall, unless the parties otherwise agree, establish an equitable division of joint rates for through routes over such lines.

(B) If the Corporation receives no bona fide offer under subparagraph (A), within such 120-day period, the Corporation may abandon or dispose of the line as it chooses, except that the Corporation may not dismantle bridges, or other structures (not including rail, signals, and other rail facilities) for 120 days thereafter. The Secretary may require that bridges or other structures (not including rail, signals, and other rail facilities), not be dismantled for an additional 8 months if he assumes all liability of any sort related to such property.

(4) If the purchaser under paragraph (3)(A) of this subsection of any line of the Corporation abandons such line within five years after such purchase, the proceeds of any track liquidations shall be paid into the general fund of the Treasury of the United States.

(f) Employee protection

The provisions of section 10903 (b)(3) ^[1] of title 49 shall not apply to any abandonment granted under this section. Any employee who was protected by the compensatory provisions of subchapter V ^[2] of this chapter immediately prior to August 13, 1981, who is deprived of employment by such an abandonment shall be eligible for employee protection under section 797 ^[2] of this title.

[1] So in original. Section 10903(b) of Title 49, Transportation, does not contain a par. (3).

[2] See References in Text note below.

prev | next

(a) General

The Corporation may, in accordance with this section, file with the Commission an application for a certificate of abandonment for any line which is part of the system of the Corporation. Any such application shall be governed by this section and shall not, except as specifically provided in this section, be subject to the provisions of chapter 109 of title 49.

(b) Applications for abandonment

Any application for abandonment that is filed by the Corporation under this section before December 1, 1981, shall be granted by the Commission within 90 days after the date such application is filed unless, within such 90-day period, an offer of financial assistance is made in accordance with subsection (d) of this section with respect to the line to be abandoned.

(c) Notice of insufficient revenues

(1) The Corporation may, prior to November 1, 1985, file with the Commission a notice of insufficient revenues for any line which is part of the system of the Corporation.

(2) At any time after the 90-day period beginning with the filing of a notice of insufficient revenues for a line, the Corporation may file an application for abandonment for such line. An application for abandonment that is filed by the Corporation under this subsection for a line for which a notice of insufficient revenues was filed under paragraph (1) shall be granted by the Commission within 90 days after the date such application is filed unless, within such 90-day period, an offer of financial assistance is made in accordance with subsection (d) of this section with respect to such line.

(d) Offers of financial assistance

(1) The provisions of section 10904 of title 49 (including the timing requirements of subsection (d) thereof) shall apply to any offer of financial assistance under subsection (b) or (c) of this section.

(2) The Corporation shall provide any person that intends to make an offer of financial assistance under subsection (b) or (c) of this section with such information as the Commission may require.

(e) Liquidation

(1) If any application for abandonment is granted under subsection (b) of this section, the Commission shall, as soon as practicable, appraise the net liquidation value of the line to be abandoned, and shall publish notice of such appraisal in the Federal Register.

(2) Appraisals made under paragraph (1) shall not be appealable.

(3)

(A) If, within 120 days after the date on which an appraisal is published in the Federal Register under paragraph (1), the Corporation receives a bona fide offer for the sale, for 75 percent of the amount at which the liquidation value of such line was appraised by the Commission, of the line to be abandoned, the Corporation shall sell such line and the Commission shall, unless the parties otherwise agree, establish an equitable division of joint rates for through routes over such lines.

(B) If the Corporation receives no bona fide offer under subparagraph (A), within such 120-day period, the Corporation may abandon or dispose of the line as it chooses, except that the Corporation may not dismantle bridges, or other structures (not including rail, signals, and other rail facilities) for 120 days thereafter. The Secretary may require that bridges or other structures (not including rail, signals, and other rail facilities), not be dismantled for an additional 8 months if he assumes all liability of any sort related to such property.

(4) If the purchaser under paragraph (3)(A) of this subsection of any line of the Corporation abandons such line within five years after such purchase, the proceeds of any track liquidations shall be paid into the general fund of the Treasury of the United States.

(f) Employee protection

The provisions of section 10903 (b)(3) ^[1] of title 49 shall not apply to any abandonment granted under this section. Any employee who was protected by the compensatory provisions of subchapter V ^[2] of this chapter immediately prior to August 13, 1981, who is deprived of employment by such an abandonment shall be eligible for employee protection under section 797 ^[2] of this title.

[1] So in original. Section 10903(b) of Title 49, Transportation, does not contain a par. (3).

[2] See References in Text note below.

Source

(Pub. L. 93–236, title III, § 308, as added Pub. L. 97–35, title XI, § 1156(a),Aug. 13, 1981, 95 Stat. 679; amended Pub. L. 98–181, title II, § 2003(c)(2),Nov. 30, 1983, 97 Stat. 1298; Pub. L. 104–88, title III, § 327(4),Dec. 29, 1995, 109 Stat. 952.)

References in Text

Subchapter V of this chapter, referred to in subsec. (f), was repealed by Pub. L. 97–35, title XI, § 1144(a)(1),Aug. 13, 1981, 95 Stat. 669.

Section 797 of this title, referred to in subsec. (f), was repealed by Pub. L. 99–509, title IV, § 4024(c),Oct. 21, 1986, 100 Stat. 1904, effective on the sale date (Apr. 2, 1987).

Amendments

1995—Subsec. (d)(1). Pub. L. 104–88, § 327(4)(A), substituted “section 10904” for “section 10905(d)–(f)”.

Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 104–88, § 327(4)(B), substituted “section 10903(b)(3)” for “section 10903(b)(2)”.

1983—Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 98–181substituted “1985” for “1983”.

Effective Date of 1995 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 104–88effective Jan. 1, 1996, see section 2 ofPub. L. 104–88, set out as an Effective Date note under section 701 of Title 49, Transportation.

Effective Date

Section effective Aug. 13, 1981, see section 1169 ofPub. L. 97–35, set out as a note under section 1101 of this title.

Abolition of Interstate Commerce Commission and Transfer of Functions

Interstate Commerce Commission abolished and functions of Commission transferred, except as otherwise provided in Pub. L. 104–88, to Surface Transportation Board effective Jan. 1, 1996, by section 702 of Title 49, Transportation, and section 101 ofPub. L. 104–88, set out as a note under section 701 of Title 49. References to Interstate Commerce Commission deemed to refer to Surface Transportation Board, a member or employee of the Board, or Secretary of Transportation, as appropriate, see section 205 ofPub. L. 104–88, set out as a note under section 701 of Title 49.

The table below lists the classification updates, since Jan. 3, 2012, for this section. Updates to a broader range of sections may be found at the update page for containing chapter, title, etc.

The most recent Classification Table update that we have noticed was Friday, May 3, 2013

An empty table indicates that we see no relevant changes listed in the classification tables. If you suspect that our system may be missing something, please double-check with the Office of the Law Revision Counsel.

How To Use

Multiple entries for a section are listed most recent first, within the section.

The Session Year indicates which session of Congress was responsible for the changes classified. The Congress number forms the first part of the Public Law number; each Congress has two sessions.

Abbreviations used in the Description of Change column:

An empty field implies a standard amendment.
"new" means a new section or new note, or all new text of an existing section or note.
"nt" means note.
"nt [tbl]" means note [table].
"prec" means preceding.
"fr" means a transfer from another section.
"to" means a transfer to another section.
"omitted" means the section is omitted.
"repealed" means the section is repealed.
"nt ed change" and "ed change" - See the Editorial Classification Change Table [pdf].

The Public Law field is linked to the development of the law in the Thomas system at the Library of Congress.

The Statutes at Large field is linked to the text of the law, in the context of its volume of the Statutes at Large, at the Government Printing Office. Please note that it takes a while for these pages to get posted, so for very recent legislation, you need to look at the "enrolled" version at the Thomas site.

The Statutes at Large references have been rendered in the format used as page numbers in the Public Law web pages to which we link, to facilitate copy-paste into browser "find on this (web) page" tools. We are still working on a more direct link facility.

For serious comparison work, we suggest copying all or a portion of the Public Law text into your favorite text editor, for convenient content traversal and window control.

Sections with change type "new" are a special case, still under development. All are now listed, at the title level only.

You will find that occassionally a specific update you notice in a Public Law listed in a classification table will already have made it into the Code. We assume this is an artifact of the LRC edit process. The LII does not edit the LRC content.

top

General Reference

Refer to the LRC (Law Revision Council) for explanations about the US Code from the folks who put it all together.

You can look for information about what it is and is not, which titles are positive law, the schedule of Supplements, etc. Under download you can find the source data we use here (GPO locator files), as well as, PDF files that look just like the paper books (these may be rather large).

Refer to the Thomas site for changes that have not yet made it into the classification tables.

45 USC	Description of Change	Session Year	Public Law	Statutes at Large

45 USC § 748 - Abandonments

U.S. Code Toolbox

Law about... Articles from Wex

Find a Lawyer

Get Involved