Title 49 — Public Utilities

In this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires: 1. "Public railroad crossing" means a location where a public highway, road, or street, including associated sidewalks or pathways, crosses one or more railroad tracks at grade. The term includes a crossing if a public autho…

Every railroad corporation while engaged in raising or lowering any railroad track or in making any other alterations, by means of which a railroad crossing may be obstructed, shall provide and keep in good order a suitable temporary way and crossing with adequate protection to e…

Every railroad corporation shall maintain and keep in good repair all bridges and their abutments which the corporation shall construct for the purpose of enabling its road to pass over or under any public highway, watercourse, or other way. Railroad corporations which have trans…

When it shall be necessary in the construction of a railroad to erect a bridge or culvert over any public highway or street, it shall be sufficient to construct the same so as to give a clear passageway of twenty feet [6.10 meters] or two passageways of fourteen feet [4.27 meters…

Every corporation constructing, owning, or using a railroad shall restore every stream of water, watercourse, street, highway, or canal across, along, or upon which such railroad may be constructed to its former state or to such condition that its usefulness shall not be material…

Repealed by S.L. 1993, ch. 278, § 2.

1. A public highway-railroad crossing at grade shall be constructed of a grade of earth on one or both sides of the railroad track, as the location may require, for the entire width of the highway grade but in no case less than twenty feet [6.10 meters] in width, the middle point…

Repealed by S.L. 1975, ch. 106, § 673.

The making of an intersecting railroad crossing by a railroad corporation constructing a new railroad shall not be hindered, delayed, nor prevented pending the ascertainment and determination of the compensation to be paid the affected railroad, if said railroad corporation propo…

Every corporation whose railroad shall be intersected by any new railroad shall unite with the owners of such new railroad in forming such intersection and connections and shall grant the facilities provided for in section 49-11-08. If the two corporations cannot agree upon the a…

Repealed by S.L. 1997, ch. 284, § 8.

Repealed by S.L. 1997, ch. 284, § 8. 49-11-12. District court may review commission's disapproval of plan for crossing railroad without stopping. Repealed by S.L. 1997, ch. 284, § 8.

Repealed by S.L. 1981, ch. 476, § 6.

Repealed by S.L. 1981, ch. 476, § 6.

Repealed by S.L. 1981, ch. 476, § 6.

Repealed by S.L. 1979, ch. 331, § 5. 49-11-17. Railroad crossing over land owned on both sides by one person - Penalty for failure to provide. When any person owns land on both sides of any railroad and contiguous to the railway, the corporation or individual owning or operating …

Subject to the provisions of section 49-11-03, a railroad corporation shall have the power to: 1. Construct its railroad across, along, or up any stream of water, watercourse, street, highway, riverfront, steamboat, or other public landing, or canal which its route shall intersec…

1. A person may not operate any train in a manner as to prevent vehicular use of any roadway for a period of time in excess of ten consecutive minutes except: a. When necessary to comply with safety signals affecting the safety of the movement of trains; b. When necessary to avoi…

Any person operating a train who shall block or obstruct a public railroad crossing and who has the alternative of blocking or obstructing a crossing with active grade crossing traffic control devices or a crossing without such device shall, where feasible, and subject to the exc…

Whenever it shall appear that owing to any construction work or repair work, or for any other cause, an unusual number of trains are being operated in or through any city in this state, the commission, upon complaint by the governing body of such city through its chief executive …

1. A warning device must be placed on each locomotive engine and the device on the lead locomotive must be sounded when approaching a public railroad crossing, and must continue to be sounded until the locomotive enters the public railroad crossing. 2. The warning device may not …

1. A railroad that has operational control of a locomotive that fails to sound its warning device at any crossing as required by section 49-11-21 is guilty of an infraction. 2. If a crew member of a locomotive does not sound a warning device at a crossing for which the sounding o…

1. Every owner or lessee of land abutting any operating railroad's right of way who has a legal fence, as defined in section 47-26-01, along all sides of the land except the side abutting the right of way may make a written request of the owners or operators of the railroad to co…

A fence required under the provisions of section 49-11-24 shall be constructed as follows: 1. Good posts shall be set in the ground firmly, and such posts shall be not more than twenty feet [6.10 meters] apart. 2. There shall be securely fastened to such posts not less than four …

Every owner or lessee of a tract of land abutting upon any railroad or railway, or through which any railroad or railway has been or may be constructed, who has built a hog-tight fence along all sides of such land, except the side abutting against the railroad right of way, may d…

A fence built pursuant to a demand made under section 49-11-26 shall be constructed as follows: 1. The fence shall be not less than twenty-six inches [66.04 centimeters] high. 2. The woven wire shall have not less than seven cables and the meshes therein shall not exceed six inch…

Upon the written request of the owner or lessee of land abutting the railroad's right of way, the owners or operators of a railroad shall construct and maintain suitable and safe swinging gates on any side of a private crossing enclosed by the railroad under section 49-11-24. The…

Any person owning or operating any line of railroad within this state and refusing or neglecting to comply with sections 49-11-24 through 49-11-28 is guilty of a class A misdemeanor. A prosecution or conviction under sections 49-11-24 through 49-11-28 does not relieve such person…

Any corporation operating a railroad and failing to fence the same against livestock running at large where the duty to fence exists is liable to the owner of any stock killed or injured by reason of the want of such fence for the full amount of the damages sustained by the owner…

The provisions of sections 49-11-24 through 49-11-30 shall not apply to street railways or the rights of way of railroads within the limits of an incorporated city.

In any circumstances involving an accident between a pedestrian or vehicle and a locomotive or part of a train in which the engineer or any other crew member of the train is interviewed by a law enforcement officer, the engineer or any other crew member may not be required to fur…