§10501 General jurisdiction

Summary

Gives the Board control over railroad transportation that is only by rail or by rail combined with water when those parts are under the same control and move as one continuous shipment. That control covers transportation inside the United States between places in states, between states and U.S. territories, between U.S. territories, routes that go through a foreign country, and routes to a foreign country. The Board also controls rates, rules, practices, routes, services, and facilities of rail carriers and the building, buying, operating, or abandoning of spur, industrial, team, switching, or side tracks, even if they are entirely inside one State. A "local governmental authority" means the entity in section 5302 (and anyone it hires to run service). "Public transportation" means the rail services in section 5302. The Board generally does not control public transit run by local governments or certain solid-waste rail transfer facilities (see sections 10908 and 10909), but those local providers must follow federal safety rules, laws about employee representation for bargaining, and rules about employment, retirement, and unemployment systems. The Board can only treat a local government like a rail carrier under sections 11102 and 11103 if it met the Interstate Commerce Commission’s standards in effect on January 1, 1996. The ICC Termination Act of 1995 does not change who is covered by the Railway Labor Act, the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974, the Railroad Retirement Tax Act, or the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act.