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A right-of-way (ROW) is a right to make a way over a piece of land, usually to and from another piece of land. A right of way is a type of easement granted or reserved over the land for transportation purposes, such as a highway, public
''A law dictionary containing definitions of the terms and phrases of American and English jurisprudence, ancient and modern: and including the principal terms of international, constitutional, ecclesiastical, and commercial law, and medical jurisprudence, with a collection of legal maxims ...''
(West Publishing Co., 1910), pg. 1040. A right-of-way is reserved for the purposes of maintenance or expansion of existing services with the right-of-way.
The various designations of railroad right of way are as follows:
*Active track is any track that is used regularly or even only once in a while.
*Out of service means the right of way is preserved, and the railroad retains the right to activate it. The line could be out of service for decades. Thus track or crossings that have been removed need to be replaced.
*By an embargo the track is removed, but the right of way is preserved and usually is converted into a walking or cycling path or other such use.
*An abandonment is a lengthy formal process by which the railroad gives up all rights to the line. In most cases the track is removed and sold for scrap and any grade crossings are redone. The line will never be active again. The right of way reverts to the adjoining property owners.
Railroad rights-of-way need not be exclusively for railroad tracks and related equipment.
A right-of-way (ROW) is a right to make a way over a piece of land, usually to and from another piece of land. A right of way is a type of easement granted or reserved over the land for transportation purposes, such as a highway, public footpath
A footpath (also pedestrian way, walking trail, nature trail) is a type of thoroughfare that is intended for use only by pedestrians and not other forms of traffic such as motorized vehicles, bicycles and horses. They can be found in a wide ...
, rail transport, canal, as well as electrical transmission lines, oil and gas pipelines. In the case of an easement, it may revert to its original owners if the facility is abandoned. This American English term is also used to denote the land itself.
A right of way is granted or reserved over the land for transportation purposes, usually for private access to private land and, historically for a highway, public footpath
A footpath (also pedestrian way, walking trail, nature trail) is a type of thoroughfare that is intended for use only by pedestrians and not other forms of traffic such as motorized vehicles, bicycles and horses. They can be found in a wide ...
, rail transport, canal, as well as electrical transmission lines, oil and gas pipelines.Henry Campbell Black: ''Right-of-way.'' In''A law dictionary containing definitions of the terms and phrases of American and English jurisprudence, ancient and modern: and including the principal terms of international, constitutional, ecclesiastical, and commercial law, and medical jurisprudence, with a collection of legal maxims ...''
(West Publishing Co., 1910), pg. 1040. A right-of-way is reserved for the purposes of maintenance or expansion of existing services with the right-of-way.
Rail right-of-way
In the United States, railroad rights-of-way (ROW or R/O/W) are generally considered private property by the respective railroad owners and by applicable state laws. Most U.S. railroads employ their own police forces, who can arrest and prosecute trespassers found on their rights-of-way. Some railroad rights-of-way include recreationalrail trail
A rail trail is a shared-use path on railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed, but may also share the right of way with active railways, light rail, or streetcar ...
s.
In Canada, railroad rights-of-way are regulated by federal law.
In the United Kingdom, railway companies received the right to resume land for a right-of-way by a private Act of Parliament.
Designations of railroad right of way
The various designations of railroad right of way are as follows:
*Active track is any track that is used regularly or even only once in a while.
*Out of service means the right of way is preserved, and the railroad retains the right to activate it. The line could be out of service for decades. Thus track or crossings that have been removed need to be replaced.
*By an embargo the track is removed, but the right of way is preserved and usually is converted into a walking or cycling path or other such use.
*An abandonment is a lengthy formal process by which the railroad gives up all rights to the line. In most cases the track is removed and sold for scrap and any grade crossings are redone. The line will never be active again. The right of way reverts to the adjoining property owners.
Rail rights-of-way uses other than rail transport
Railroad rights-of-way need not be exclusively for railroad tracks and related equipment. Easements
An easement is a nonpossessory right to use and/or enter onto the real property of another without possessing it. It is "best typified in the right of way which one landowner, A, may enjoy over the land of another, B". An easement is a property ...
are frequently given to permit the laying of communication cables (such as optical fiber) or natural gas pipelines, or to run electric power transmission
Electric power transmission is the bulk movement of electrical energy from a generating site, such as a power plant, to an electrical substation. The interconnected lines that facilitate this movement form a ''transmission network''. This is ...
lines overhead, along a railroad.
See also
* Eminent domain *Noise barrier
A noise barrier (also called a soundwall, noise wall, sound berm, sound barrier, or acoustical barrier) is an exterior structure designed to protect inhabitants of sensitive land use areas from noise pollution. Noise barriers are the most effecti ...
* Permanent way
A railway track (British English and UIC terminology) or railroad track (American English), also known as permanent way or simply track, is the structure on a railway or railroad consisting of the rails, fasteners, railroad ties (sleepers, ...
* Right of way (public throughway)
* Right of way (traffic)
* Rights of way in England and Wales
In England and Wales, other than in the 12 Inner London London boroughs, boroughs and the City of London, the right of way is a legally protected right of the public to pass and re-pass on specific paths. The law in England and Wales differs f ...
References