[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 146 (Saturday, October 8, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: October 8, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
           CLARIFYING THE DEFINITION OF RAILROAD MAINTENANCE

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                       HON. THOMAS J. BLILEY, JR.

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 7, 1994

  Mr. BLILEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to clarify the definition of 
railroad maintenance in H.R. 4349, the One-Call Notification Act of 
1994.
  By and large, rail facilities have been in place for more than a 
century. During that time they have been extensively mapped, and any 
encroachment on rail property by a private or public entity must be 
covered by a lease or other contractual agreement. Those documents 
define the nature of the encroachment by transmission line or other 
facilities and the manner in which they are to be installed on rail 
property to ensure no breach will occur during routine maintenance by 
the railroads.
  The committees of jurisdiction in both bodies clearly recognized 
these contractual arrangements and the railroads' outstanding record in 
maintaining their plant without disturbing transmission lines or other 
facilities which are buried between 3 and 10 feet underground. As a 
result, routine railroad maintenance was exempted from the one-call 
notification requirement.
  H.R. 4349 lists examples of railroad maintenance activities such as 
ballast cleaning, general ballast work, track lining and surfacing, 
signal maintenance, and the replacement of crossties. These examples 
are not meant to be all-inclusive. Routine rail maintenance covers many 
other activities, including ditch cleaning, which are part of the 
ongoing activities railroads carry out to ensure proper drainage and a 
strong physical plant.
  There is no record indicating that these activities are a threat to 
pipelines or transmission line buried under rail property. As a result, 
it is appropriate that the definition of routine railroad maintenance 
be construed in the broadest possible manner.

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