43 U.S.C. § 942–1: Rights of way in Alaska…

Summary

Grants railroad companies organized under any State, Territory, or Congress that file their articles and proof with the Secretary of the Interior on or after May 14, 1898 a right of way in Alaska. That right of way is 100 feet on each side of the track centerline. Railroads may take earth, stone, timber, and other materials from nearby public lands for building the line. They may also take nearby public land for railroad uses—like stations, depots, shops, extra tracks, water stops, and terminals—up to 20 acres per station (one station allowed for each 10 miles), with extra 40 acres at terminals or junctions and a shoreline limit of 80 rods; the Secretary of the Interior can allow more land when big cuts or fills are needed. Ownership of minerals, including coal, is not given to the railroad, and any mining on these lands must follow rules from the Secretary of the Interior and not harm railroad operations. When a railroad reaches a navigable stream or tidal water, it may build piers and wharves for water connections under the Secretary of the Treasury’s supervision. The provision does not reduce any future State’s title to tide lands or its right to regulate those lands; the United States keeps the right to resume possession and holds such rights in trust for the people of any State formed from Alaska on or after May 14, 1898. “Navigable waters” here means tidal waters up to the ordinary high tide line and non-tidal waters actually navigable up to the ordinary high-water mark. Rail freight and passenger charges must be printed and posted as required by law, and those rates can be changed by the Secretary of the Interior.

Title 43, §942–1

Public Lands, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

The right of way through the lands of the United States in Alaska is granted to any railroad company, duly organized under the laws of any State or Territory or by the Congress of the United States, which may on and after May 14, 1898, file for record with the Secretary of the Interior a copy of its articles of incorporation and due proofs of its organization under the same, to the extent of one hundred feet on each side of the center line of said road; also the right to take from the lands of the United States adjacent to the line of said road, material, earth, stone, and timber necessary for the construction of said railroad; also the right to take for railroad uses, subject to the reservation of all minerals and coal therein, public lands adjacent to said right of way for station buildings, depots, machine shops, side tracks, turn-outs, water stations, and terminals, and other legitimate railroad purposes, not to exceed in amount twenty acres for each station, to the extent of one station for each ten miles of its road, excepting at terminals and junction points, which may include additional forty acres, to be limited on navigable waters to eighty rods on the shore line, and with the right to use such additional ground as may in the opinion of the Secretary of the Interior be necessary where there are heavy cuts or fills: Provided, That nothing herein contained shall be so construed as to give to such railroad company, its lessees, grantees, or assigns the ownership or use of minerals, including coal, within the limits of its right of way, or of the lands granted: Provided further, That all mining operations prosecuted or undertaken within the limits of such right of way or of the lands granted shall under rules and regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior, be so conducted as not to injure or interfere with the property or operations of the road over its said lands or right of way. And when such railway shall connect with any navigable stream or tide water such company shall have power to construct and maintain necessary piers and wharves for connection with water transportation, subject to the supervision of the Secretary of the Treasury: Provided, That nothing in section 687a, 687a–2 to 687a–5, and 942–1 to 942–9 of this title and section 607a and 615a of title 16 contained shall be construed as impairing in any degree the title of any State that may hereafter be erected out of the Territory of Alaska, or any part thereof, to tide lands and beds of any of its navigable waters, or the right of such State to regulate the use thereof, nor the right of the United States to resume possession of such lands, it being declared that all such rights shall continue to be held by the United States in trust for the people of any State or States which may on and after May 14, 1898, be erected out of said Territory. The term “navigable waters,” as herein used, shall be held to include all tidal waters up to the line of ordinary high tide and all nontidal waters navigable in fact up to the line of ordinary high-water mark. All charges for the transportation of freight and passengers on railroads in Alaska shall be printed and posted as required by section 10762 of title 49, and such rates shall be subject to revision and modification by the Secretary of the Interior.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

section 687a and 687a–2 to 687a–5 of this title, referred to in text, were repealed by Pub. L. 94–579, title VII, §§ 703(a), 704(a), Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2789, 2792. Section 10762 of title 49, referred to in text, was omitted in the general amendment of subtitle IV of Title 49, Transportation, by Pub. L. 104–88, title I, § 102(a), Dec. 29, 1995, 109 Stat. 804. Previously, “section 10762 of title 49” was substituted in text for “section 6 of an Act to regulate commerce as amended on March second, eighteen hundred and eighty-nine [49 U.S.C. 6]” on authority of Pub. L. 95–473, § 3(b), Oct. 17, 1978, 92 Stat. 1466, the first section of which enacted subtitle IV of Title 49. Codification Section was formerly classified to section 411 of Title 48, Territories and Insular Possessions.

Short Title

Sections 942–1 to 942–9 of this title are popularly known as the “Alaska Right of Way Act”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Repeal;

Savings Provision

Section repealed by Pub. L. 94–579, title VII, § 706(a), Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2793, effective on and after Oct. 21, 1976, insofar as applicable to the issuance of rights-of-way over, upon, under, and through the public lands and lands in the National Forest System. Such repeal not to be construed as terminating any valid lease, permit, patent, etc., existing on Oct. 21, 1976, see section 701 of Pub. L. 94–579, set out as a note under section 1701 of this title.

Executive Documents

Admission of Alaska as StateAdmission of Alaska into the Union was accomplished Jan. 3, 1959, on issuance of Proc. No. 3269, Jan. 3, 1959. 24 F.R. 81, 73 Stat. c16, as required by section 1 and 8(c) of Pub. L. 85–508, July 7, 1958, 72 Stat. 339, set out as notes preceding section 21 of Title 48, Territories and Insular Possessions.

§942–1 Rights of Way in Alaska; Railroad Rights of Way; Reservations; Water Transportation Connections; State Title to Submerged Lands; Federal Repossession as Trustee; “navigable Waters” Defined; Posting Schedules of Rates; Changes in Rates