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Title 45 — RailroadsRelease 119-73not60

§748 Abandonments

Title 45 › Chapter 16— REGIONAL RAIL REORGANIZATION › Subchapter III— CONSOLIDATED RAIL CORPORATION › § 748

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Corporation may ask the Commission to give permission to stop using any rail line it owns. These requests follow the rules written here and normally are not handled under chapter 109 of title 49, except where this law says otherwise. If the Corporation files an abandonment request before December 1, 1981, the Commission must approve it within 90 days unless someone makes a timely offer to help pay to keep the line in service. Before November 1, 1985, the Corporation can also file a notice saying a line does not bring in enough money. After 90 days from that notice the Corporation may file to abandon the line, and the same 90-day approval rule applies unless a financial-help offer is made. Any offer to help must follow the timing and rules of 49 U.S.C. 10904, and the Corporation must give would-be helpers the information the Commission asks for. If an abandonment is approved, the Commission will appraise the line’s liquidation value and publish it. If, within 120 days, someone offers to buy the line for 75% of that appraisal, the Corporation must sell and the Commission will set fair joint rates. If no offer comes, the Corporation can abandon or dispose of the line but may not remove bridges or other non-rail structures for 120 days (the Secretary can extend that hold by 8 months if he takes on related liability). If a buyer then abandons the line within five years, proceeds from selling track go to the U.S. Treasury. The normal rule in 49 U.S.C. 10903(b)(3) does not apply, and employees who had protection under subchapter V right before August 13, 1981 and lose their jobs because of such an abandonment are eligible for protection under section 797.

Full Legal Text

Title 45, §748

Railroads — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Corporation may, in accordance with this section, file with the Commission an application for a certificate of abandonment for any line which is part of the system of the Corporation. Any such application shall be governed by this section and shall not, except as specifically provided in this section, be subject to the provisions of chapter 109 of title 49.
(b)Any application for abandonment that is filed by the Corporation under this section before December 1, 1981, shall be granted by the Commission within 90 days after the date such application is filed unless, within such 90-day period, an offer of financial assistance is made in accordance with subsection (d) of this section with respect to the line to be abandoned.
(c)(1)The Corporation may, prior to November 1, 1985, file with the Commission a notice of insufficient revenues for any line which is part of the system of the Corporation.
(2)At any time after the 90-day period beginning with the filing of a notice of insufficient revenues for a line, the Corporation may file an application for abandonment for such line. An application for abandonment that is filed by the Corporation under this subsection for a line for which a notice of insufficient revenues was filed under paragraph (1) shall be granted by the Commission within 90 days after the date such application is filed unless, within such 90-day period, an offer of financial assistance is made in accordance with subsection (d) of this section with respect to such line.
(d)(1)The provisions of section 10904 of title 49 (including the timing requirements of subsection (d) thereof) shall apply to any offer of financial assistance under subsection (b) or (c) of this section.
(2)The Corporation shall provide any person that intends to make an offer of financial assistance under subsection (b) or (c) of this section with such information as the Commission may require.
(e)(1)If any application for abandonment is granted under subsection (b) of this section, the Commission shall, as soon as practicable, appraise the net liquidation value of the line to be abandoned, and shall publish notice of such appraisal in the Federal Register.
(2)Appraisals made under paragraph (1) shall not be appealable.
(3)(A)If, within 120 days after the date on which an appraisal is published in the Federal Register under paragraph (1), the Corporation receives a bona fide offer for the sale, for 75 percent of the amount at which the liquidation value of such line was appraised by the Commission, of the line to be abandoned, the Corporation shall sell such line and the Commission shall, unless the parties otherwise agree, establish an equitable division of joint rates for through routes over such lines.
(B)If the Corporation receives no bona fide offer under subparagraph (A), within such 120-day period, the Corporation may abandon or dispose of the line as it chooses, except that the Corporation may not dismantle bridges, or other structures (not including rail, signals, and other rail facilities) for 120 days thereafter. The Secretary may require that bridges or other structures (not including rail, signals, and other rail facilities), not be dismantled for an additional 8 months if he assumes all liability of any sort related to such property.
(4)If the purchaser under paragraph (3)(A) of this subsection of any line of the Corporation abandons such line within five years after such purchase, the proceeds of any track liquidations shall be paid into the general fund of the Treasury of the United States.
(f)The provisions of section 10903(b)(3) 11 So in original. section 10903(b) of Title 49, Transportation, does not contain a par. (3). of title 49 shall not apply to any abandonment granted under this section. Any employee who was protected by the compensatory provisions of subchapter V 22 See References in Text note below. of this chapter immediately prior to August 13, 1981, who is deprived of employment by such an abandonment shall be eligible for employee protection under section 797 2 of this title.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

Subchapter V of this chapter, referred to in subsec. (f), was repealed by Pub. L. 97–35, title XI, § 1144(a)(1), Aug. 13, 1981, 95 Stat. 669. section 797 of this title, referred to in subsec. (f), was repealed by Pub. L. 99–509, title IV, § 4024(c), Oct. 21, 1986, 100 Stat. 1904, effective on the sale date (Apr. 2, 1987).

Amendments

1995—Subsec. (d)(1). Pub. L. 104–88, § 327(4)(A), substituted “section 10904” for “section 10905(d)–(f)”. Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 104–88, § 327(4)(B), substituted “section 10903(b)(3)” for “section 10903(b)(2)”. 1983—Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 98–181 substituted “1985” for “1983”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 1995 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 104–88 effective Jan. 1, 1996, see section 2 of Pub. L. 104–88, set out as an

Effective Date

note under section 1301 of Title 49, Transportation.

Effective Date

Section effective Aug. 13, 1981, see section 1169 of Pub. L. 97–35, set out as a note under section 1101 of this title. Abolition of Interstate Commerce Commission and

Transfer of Functions

Interstate Commerce Commission abolished and functions of Commission transferred, except as otherwise provided in Pub. L. 104–88, to Surface Transportation Board effective Jan. 1, 1996, by section 1302 of Title 49, Transportation, and section 101 of Pub. L. 104–88, set out as a note under section 1301 of Title 49. References to Interstate Commerce Commission deemed to refer to Surface Transportation Board, a member or employee of the Board, or Secretary of Transportation, as appropriate, see section 205 of Pub. L. 104–88, set out as a note under section 1301 of Title 49.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

45 U.S.C. § 748

Title 45 — Railroads

Last Updated

Apr 5, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60