Title 48, Title 48: PUBLIC UTILITIES

48:12-50. Piers to support bridges over streets or highways Where a railroad is constructed above the grade of any street or highway in any city or town by a bridge the company may erect piers for the support and safety of the bridge. The piers may be located at the outer edge of…

48:12-51. Highways over or under railroad; condemnation of lands for embankment or cutting When the tracks of a railroad company shall cross a highway, such highway may be carried under or over the tracks as may be found expedient. Where an embankment or cutting shall make a chan…

48:12-52. Failure to construct and maintain bridges and crossings; procedure by county or municipality When a railroad company shall not properly construct and maintain the bridges or other crossings which cross, or are crossed by, highways, whenever the bridges or crossings were…

48:12-53. Construction of tracks along city streets; elevated roads; contracts The municipal authorities of any city except a city of the first class may permit any railroad company to lay and construct its tracks along and upon any street or highway or above the street or highwa…

48:12-54. Protections at grade crossings; group signals Every company operating on a fixed track or tracks, freight or passenger trains or cars, shall provide protection to pedestrians and the traveling public at every crossing of its tracks by any public road. Such protection ma…

48:12-55. Compelling proper protection of grade crossing The Board of Public Utility Commissioners, upon its own initiative or upon the application of any municipality or citizen dissatisfied with the protection provided or the failure to provide any or sufficient protection at a…

48:12-56. Enforcement; penalty; construction The provisions of sections 48:12-54 and 48:12-55 of this title shall be enforced by the board of public utility commissioners in the manner provided by chapter 2 of this title (s. 48:2-1 et seq.). Violation of the provisions of section…

48:12-57 Safety measure for locomotives; penalties; "supplementary safety measure" defined; limitations. 48:12-57. a. Every railroad company shall place on each engine a bell weighing not less than 30 pounds which shall be rung continuously in approaching a grade crossing of a hi…

48:12-57.1 Pilot demonstration program for supplementary safety measures. 2. The Commissioner of Transportation may immediately proceed with a pilot demonstration program implementing the use of potential supplementary safety measures, in anticipation of the adoption of federal r…

48:12-58. Warning signs at grade crossings Every railroad company shall install and maintain at each highway crossing at grade a conspicuous sign with such inscription and of such standard and design as shall be approved by the Board of Public Utility Commissioners, so as to be e…

48:12-58.1. Abandonment of line and grade crossings; notice; substitution of abandoned grade crossing sign for warning sign Whenever a railroad company has discontinued or discontinues all traffic on any line or part thereof, and has abandoned or abandons the use of such line and…

48:12-59. Protection of electrified third rail at grade crossings Any company operating a railroad in this state on which the cars are operated by electric current by means of a third rail at or near grade, shall securely cover said rail with wood or other nonconducting material …

48:12-60. Failure to protect electrified third rail; penalty; negligence per se Any company violating section 48:12-59 of this title shall be subject to a penalty of five hundred dollars and costs for each offense, to be recovered by any citizen of this state who may sue for the …

48:12-61. Authority of board of public utility commissioners; manner of elimination Whenever a public highway, other than a state highway and the tracks of a railroad, or of more than one railroad whose rights of way adjoin or are in such close proximity to each other as to be ne…

48:12-62. Division of expenses The railroad company or companies involved shall pay 15% and the board, out of funds to be provided for that purpose, shall pay 85% of the entire expense of such alterations, reconstructions, changes, relocation or opening, including damages to adja…

48:12-63. Expense of change in or removal of public utility property or facilities; hearing Where the order of the board shall require changes in or the removal of the property or facilities of any other public utility, the public utility shall at its own expense move or change t…

48:12-64. Petition for removal of grade crossing; hearing; notice; determination Any railroad company or companies whose tracks cross or are crossed at grade by a public highway, or the body having charge of the finances of any municipality or county having jurisdiction over any …

48:12-65. Notice of hearing; publication; contents The notice of time and place of hearing required by section 48:12-64 of this Title may, except as to the municipality or county and the railroad company or companies interested in the hearing, be given by publication of a notice …

48:12-66. Powers vested in board of public utility commissioners and courts All the powers, supervision, regulation of, jurisdiction and control over public utilities granted by chapter 2 of this title (s. 48:2-1 et seq.) are hereby vested in the board of public utility commissio…

48:12-67. Changes or alterations ordered prior to April 14, 1930 Sections 48:12-61 to 48:12-66 of this title shall apply to any alterations, changes, relocations or openings ordered by the board of public utility commissioners prior to April fourteenth, one thousand nine hundred …

48:12-67.1. Application of sections 48:12-61 to 48:12-66 Sections 48:12-61 to 48:12-66 of the Revised Statutes shall apply to all alterations, reconstructions, changes, relocations or openings ordered by the Board of Public Utility Commissioners, after the effective date of this …

48:12-68. Annual program by state highway department; maximum yearly expenditure The State Highway Department, before January 1 of each year, shall formulate a program, covering the work to be started or completed during the ensuing year, for the elimination of railroad crossings…

48:12-69. Railroad companies to be furnished annual program; co-operation required The State Highway Department shall furnish the annual program to every company owning or operating a railroad which is called upon to perform work under the program. Every such railroad company sha…

48:12-70. Division of cost between railroads and Highway Department The cost of the work to be shared by railroad companies and the State Highway Department provided for in any annual program, exclusive of the cost of the surface paving on roadways and the curbing, sidewalk pavin…

48:12-71. Agreement for division of cost The State Highway Department and any railroad company or companies may enter into an agreement on the basis of the division of the cost, as provided by section 48:12-70 of this Title, covering the work in the annual program, or the elimina…

48:12-72. Expense of certain crossings not at grade The State Highway Department shall bear the entire expense of locating and constructing all crossings of railroads and State highways not at grade to carry new highways over or under the railroads where the construction of such …

48:12-73. Agreements with railroad companies to perform the work The State Highway Department may enter into an agreement or agreements with the company or companies owning or operating such railroad or railroads for the performance by such company or companies of any work under …

48:12-74. Furnishing annual program to municipalities and public utilities; changes at own expense Whenever the work in the annual program involves changes in rails, pipes or lines owned by a municipality or public utility, the State Highway Department shall furnish the program t…

48:12-75. Maintenance and repair of completed work Completed work under sections 48:12-68 to 48:12-78 of this Title shall be maintained, repaired and renewed as follows: a. The municipality or public utility involved shall at its own expense, maintain, repair and renew its public…

48:12-76. Closing, abandoning or combining crossings In connection with the elimination of any crossing at grade, the improvement, relocation, alteration or reconstruction of any crossing not at grade, or the location and construction of any new crossing not at grade under sectio…

48:12-77. Sharing of expense of closing, abandoning or combining highway or crossing Where the total cost of work is to be borne by the State, the expense of closing, abandoning or combining any existing road or highway shall be borne solely by the railroad company or companies i…

48:12-78. Determination of disputes Any dispute arising under sections 48:12-68 to 48:12-77 of this title may be submitted to the board of public utility commissioners, which is hereby authorized to determine the same. Its determination shall be final and conclusive subject to re…

48:12-79. Contracts between municipalities and railroads; condemnation; division of expenses The proper municipal authorities in any municipality may enter into such contracts with any railroad company whose road lies wholly or partially within the municipality or whose route has…

48:12-80. Taxes or bonds by municipalities to pay their share of expenses Whenever the proper municipal authorities of a municipality shall enter into a contract with a railroad company pursuant to section 48:12-79 of this title, the municipality shall provide its lawful share of…

48:12-81. Contracts between county and railroad for elimination of grade crossings; street railways Where a public road maintained at county expense or controlled by the county is intersected by a railroad, the board of chosen freeholders of the county and the company owning or o…

48:12-82. Contributory negligence at crossings having safety gates jury question Whenever a person is killed or injured by a locomotive or train while attempting to cross the tracks at a crossing at which the railroad company shall have assumed to establish and maintain safety ga…

48:12-83. Crossing not having protective device; contributory negligence jury question In any action against a railroad company to recover damages for injury or death occurring at any crossing at which the company has not installed any safety gates, bell or other warning or prote…

48:12-84. Traveler's right to assume proper operation of safety devices at grade crossing Whenever a railroad shall install any safety gates, bell or other device designed to protect the traveling public at any crossing, or has placed at such crossing a flagman, any person approa…

48:12-85. Spark arresters on engines; penalty Every company or person operating or using any railroad shall take and use all practicable means to prevent the communication of fire from any engine used therein to the property of any owner or occupant of land adjacent or near to th…

48:12-86. Liability for damage by fire from sparks When injury is done to property by fire communicated from an engine of any company or person in violation of section 48:12-85 of this title such company or person shall be liable in damages to the person injured. In every action …

48:12-87. Insurance by railroad of property exposed to fire from sparks Any railroad company may insure the property of any owner or occupant of land adjacent or near to its railroad and exposed to loss by fire communicated from its engines and such company shall have an insurabl…

48:12-87.1. Diesel locomotives; ventilation of cab; penalty for violation Every company operating a railroad in this State shall equip each diesel locomotive in use upon its railroad with an exhaust fan for the ventilation of the cab of such locomotive or other ventilation device…

48:12-87.2. General requirements It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, company, corporation, trustee or receiver operating a railroad as a common carrier for hire in whole or in part in this State to haul or permit to be hauled or used within this State any car as a caboose …

48:12-87.3. Exception This act shall not apply to cabooses or other equivalent cars used in switching service or on trains operated wholly within 25 miles of yard limits. L.1967, c. 186, s. 2, eff. July 1, 1968.

48:12-87.4. Administration and enforcement; penalty It shall be the duty of the Board of Public Utility Commissioners to administer and enforce the provisions of this act. Any person or railroad that shall fail to comply with an order of the board, issued hereunder after hearing,…

48:12-87.5. Partial invalidity If any part or provision of this act shall be held invalid the remainder of this act shall not be affected thereby. L.1967, c. 186, s. 4, eff. July 1, 1968.