Title 37 — Title 37

The term “transportation company” shall mean and include every person not engaged solely in interstate commerce or business that now or may hereafter own, operate, lease, manage or control, as common carriers or for hire: Any railroad or part of a railroad in this state or any ca…

Every transportation company shall print and cause to be filed with the commission, and keep open to public inspection, tariffs or schedules of rates showing all rates, fares, charges, classifications, rules, regulations and practices for transportation subject to this chapter be…

Whenever any transportation company shall refuse or neglect to establish a joint rate or rates for the transportation of persons or property, the commission may, upon notice to such transportation company or companies, and after an opportunity to be heard, as provided in this tit…

Every railroad company in this state, on the order of the Public Service Commission, shall provide, construct and maintain adequate depots and depot buildings for the accommodation of passengers, where public necessity demands it and the revenue received at such point will be suf…

Any two or more railroads which enter any city or town may be required, when practicable, or when the necessities of the case in the judgment of the Public Service Commission demand it, to have and maintain one common or union passenger station for the security, accommodation, an…

Whenever the Public Service Commission shall make an order requiring the performance of any of the duties enumerated in Sections 37-2-110 and 37-2-111, notice thereof may be served on the person or corporation operating the railroad, by delivering a copy of such order, signed by …

The Public Service Commission must notify the district attorney of the proper circuit and the Attorney General of the failure of any railroad company or person operating a railroad to comply with any order made by such commission for the erection of sitting or waiting rooms, with…

Railroad trains for the carriage of passengers must stop at all stations advertised by the railroad company as stops for such trains at least half a minute for receiving passengers thereon; and every railroad company and employee of such company, violating, or causing or permitti…

Nothing in this division shall be so construed as to prevent any person from recovering damages against the railroad company or companies for failure on the part of their employees to comply with the provisions of this division. History: (Code 1907, §5496; Code 1923, §9977; Code …

No change shall be made in any rate, fare, charge or classification, or any rule, regulation or practice affecting such rate, fare, charge or classification, or the value of the service thereunder, specified in any effective tariff or schedule of rates of a transportation company…

No transportation company shall charge or demand, or collect or receive, a greater or less or different compensation for the transportation of passengers or property, or for any service in connection therewith, than the rates, fares or charges specified in the tariffs or schedule…

All railroads shall on the order of the Public Service Commission keep and maintain adequate and suitable depots, buildings, switches and sidetracks for the receiving, handling and delivering of freight transported or to be transported by such railroads, where public necessity de…

Railroads may be constructed so as to cross or connect with each other, by the main or branch tracks; and any person or corporation operating a railroad, when required, must transport or draw over such railroad, main line or branches, the passengers, freight or cars of any inters…

or through Same Town or City. When two or more railroad companies have roads running to or through the same town or city, or near enough thereto to receive freight traffic from said town or city, they shall, when required by an order of the Public Service Commission, make and mai…

Every railroad subject to the provisions of this division shall construct, maintain, and operate upon reasonable terms, a switch connection with such other railroad or with any private sidetrack which may be constructed to connect with its railroad, where such connection, in the …

and Reasonable Facilities. All railroad companies subject to the provisions of this division shall provide at all points of connection, crossing or intersection at grade, where it is practicable and necessary for the interchange of traffic, ample facilities by track connections f…

or Cars Without Unreasonable Delay or Discrimination; Precedence Given Livestock and Perishable Freight. All railroads shall afford all reasonable and proper facilities for the interchange of traffic between their respective lines for forwarding and delivering passengers and prop…

Every railroad is required to construct and maintain spur tracks and sidetracks to industries already established under such reasonable rules and orders as may be made by the commission. History: (Code 1907, §5544; Code 1923, §10041; Code 1940, T. 48, §205.)

Every person or corporation operating a railroad must put cattle guards and crossings for plantation roads upon such railroad, and keep the same in good repair, whenever the owner or person in possession of the land through which the road passes shall make demand upon them or the…

(a) The commission, when deemed by it necessary to prevent injury to business, or in the interest of the people of this state, in consequence of any interstate rate wars, or inequality of interstate rates, or in case of any other emergency, to be judged by the commission, may tem…

(a) The Public Service Commission, upon its own motion or upon the written application of any transportation company, and under any rules which it may prescribe, may permit, from time to time, such transportation company to establish any special rate or rates for the transportati…

(a) Any company or corporation operating a railway may apply through one of its executive officers to the Governor to commission such number of its agents, servants or employees as said corporation shall designate to act as policemen for said corporation. (b) The Governor, upon s…

Every policeman so appointed shall, before entering upon the duties of his office, take and subscribe the usual oath and enter into bond in the sum of $500.00, payable to the State of Alabama, conditioned for the faithful performance of the duties of his office, with good and suf…

Such railway policemen shall, when on duty, severally wear a metallic shield with the words “railway policeman” and the name of the corporation for which appointed inscribed thereon, and said shield shall always be worn in plain view, except when acting as detective. History: (Ac…

(a) A railroad policeman may exercise the same powers of arrest and the right to bear firearms that may be exercised by any state, municipal or other police officer in this state, but only with respect to offenses committed against property owned or in the possession of the railr…

The compensation of such policemen shall be paid by the companies for which the policemen were respectively appointed as may be agreed upon between them. History: (Acts 1911, No. 77, p. 36; Code 1923, §10001; Code 1940, T. 48, §221.)

The corporation or company which applied for the appointment of such policeman, as provided in this division, shall be liable in damages for all of the torts, acts of negligence or misconduct of said policeman or policemen to the same extent as for torts, acts of negligence or mi…

Whenever any such corporation or company shall no longer require the services in Alabama of any policeman so appointed, it shall file a written notice to that effect in the offices of the Governor, the Secretary of State and the Public Service Commission. History: (Acts 1911, No.…

The Governor may, at any time, remove any such policeman so appointed by him. Written notice of such removal shall be filed with the employing company or corporation and in the offices of the Secretary of State and the Public Service Commission. History: (Acts 1911, No. 77, p. 36…

(a) If any transportation company subject to the provisions of this chapter, or any agent or officer thereof, shall, directly or indirectly, or by special rate, rebate, drawback or other consideration, or by means of false billing, false classification, false weighing, false repo…

(a) If any transportation company doing business in this state or its agents or employees are guilty of making or demanding or receiving any charge for the transportation of persons or property, or for any service pertaining to or connected therewith, in excess of that prescribed…

In addition to the penalties and forfeitures provided in this division to the state, railroads or other common carriers shall, for each violation of the provisions of this division, be liable to the person, firm, or corporation injured thereby in three times the amount of damages…

(a) Where complaint has been made to the commission concerning any rate or other charge of any transportation company and the commission has found, after a hearing, that the transportation company has received an excessive or unjustly discriminatory amount on account of such rate…

The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to any transportation company owned by a municipality or by the federal government but shall apply to a state owned transportation company. History: (Acts 1920, No. 42, p. 92; Acts 1931, No. 177, p. 252; Code 1940, T. 48, §103.)

Concentration and transit privileges and rates may be permitted or, upon complaint or upon its own motion after due notice and hearing, may be fixed or prescribed by the Alabama Public Service Commission upon traffic that is wholly intrastate upon such basis as is just and reason…

in Bales; Common-Law Liability Not Affected. (a) Every transportation company receiving property for transportation, originating and terminating in this state, shall issue to the shipper a receipt or bill of lading therefor in which shall be stated the class or classes of freight…

Carrier; Duplicates. A transportation company engaged in the business of carriage, or of keeping for shipment, or of forwarding things or property, must not give a receipt or bill of lading for the things or property for carriage, or for keeping for shipment, or for forwarding un…

or Receipt or for Failure to Endorse Partial Delivery. If any transportation company, not having received things or property for carriage, shall issue or give a bill of lading, or receipt, as if such things or property had been received, the transportation company engaged in the …

A delivery of cotton at or to a compress for the purpose of being compressed, at the instance or in the usual course of business of a transportation company, or other person engaged in the business of carriage, or of keeping for shipment, or of forwarding, may be taken and deemed…

Prohibited. A transportation company or other person engaged in the business of carriage or of keeping for shipment, or of forwarding things or property, must not, otherwise than is authorized by law or by the contract of delivery to him, make sale of things or property entrusted…

Stipulated Rate. All transportation companies doing business in this state shall settle their freight charges according to the rate stipulated in the bill of lading, provided the rate stipulated therein is in conformity with the classifications and rates made and filed with the I…

A transportation company, if the place of destination of freight is a city or town having a daily mail, is not relieved from liability as a transportation company by reason of a deposit or storage of freight in a depot or warehouse, unless, within 24 hours after the arrival of su…

(a) Any transportation company having an office or place of business in this state, and having any unclaimed articles, not perishable, in its possession for a period of 40 days, may, at the expiration of that time, sell the same at public auction. (b) Out of the proceeds thereof,…

Where such unclaimed freight is perishable or live, such transportation company may sell the same as soon as it is deemed necessary and proper for the protection of the transportation company, the consignor or consignee. When it is practicable, the consignor and consignee shall b…

Companies. The Public Service Commission is charged with the duty of supervising, regulating and controlling all transportation companies doing business in this state, in all matters relating to the performance of their public duties and their charges therefor, and of correcting …

Disposition of Surplus. (a) The transportation company may insure the freight, at the expense of the owner, from the date of its arrival to the sale above authorized. (b) A record shall be kept of the articles sold and of the price obtained therefor, transportation charges, cost …

Every transportation company subject to the provisions of this chapter, its agents or officers, whose duty it is to receive freights, shall receive all articles of the nature and kind received by said companies for transportation whenever tendered at a regular station at proper h…

Whenever any freight shall be received by any transportation company in this state to be delivered to any consignee within this state, and a portion of the same shall not have been received at the place of destination, it shall be unlawful for the company to demand any part of th…

(a) In case of any overcharge on published or lawful rates, the person aggrieved may file with the agent of the company collecting or receiving greater compensation than the lawful rate a written demand, supported by a paid freight bill or duplicate thereof, for refund of overcha…

When goods, wares, merchandise or other personal property are shipped to some point of delivery in this state over two or more connecting lines of transportation companies, both or all of which are engaged in the business of a transportation company in the State of Alabama, and s…