
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[Laws in effect as of January 23, 2000]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 23, 2000 and December 4, 2001]
[CITE: 49USC24311]

 
                        TITLE 49--TRANSPORTATION
 
                        SUBTITLE V--RAIL PROGRAMS
 
                    PART C--PASSENGER TRANSPORTATION
 
                           CHAPTER 243--AMTRAK
 
Sec. 24311. Acquiring interests in property by eminent domain

    (a) General Authority.--(1) To the extent financial resources are 
available, Amtrak may acquire by eminent domain under subsection (b) of 
this section interests in property--
        (A) necessary for intercity rail passenger transportation, 
    except property of a rail carrier, a State, a political subdivision 
    of a State, or a governmental authority; or
        (B) requested by the Secretary of Transportation in carrying out 
    the Secretary's duty to design and build an intermodal 
    transportation terminal at Union Station in the District of Columbia 
    if the Secretary assures Amtrak that the Secretary will reimburse 
    Amtrak.

    (2) Amtrak may exercise the power of eminent domain only if it 
cannot--
        (A) acquire the interest in the property by contract; or
        (B) agree with the owner on the purchase price for the interest.

    (b) Civil Actions.--(1) A civil action to acquire an interest in 
property by eminent domain under subsection (a) of this section must be 
brought in the district court of the United States for the judicial 
district in which the property is located or, if a single piece of 
property is located in more than one judicial district, in any judicial 
district in which any piece of the property is located. An interest is 
condemned and taken by Amtrak for its use when a declaration of taking 
is filed under this subsection and an amount of money estimated in the 
declaration to be just compensation for the interest is deposited in the 
court. The declaration may be filed with the complaint in the action or 
at any time before judgment. The declaration must contain or be 
accompanied by--
        (A) a statement of the public use for which the interest is 
    taken;
        (B) a description of the property sufficient to identify it;
        (C) a statement of the interest in the property taken;
        (D) a plan showing the interest taken; and
        (E) a statement of the amount of money Amtrak estimates is just 
    compensation for the interest.

    (2) When the declaration is filed and the deposit is made under 
paragraph (1) of this subsection, title to the property vests in Amtrak 
in fee simple absolute or in the lesser interest shown in the 
declaration, and the right to the money vests in the person entitled to 
the money. When the declaration is filed, the court may decide--
        (A) the time by which, and the terms under which, possession of 
    the property is given to Amtrak; and
        (B) the disposition of outstanding charges related to the 
    property.

    (3) After a hearing, the court shall make a finding on the amount 
that is just compensation for the interest in the property and enter 
judgment awarding that amount and interest on it. The rate of interest 
is 6 percent a year and is computed on the amount of the award less the 
amount deposited in the court from the date of taking to the date of 
payment.
    (4) On application of a party, the court may order immediate payment 
of any part of the amount deposited in the court for the compensation to 
be awarded. If the award is more than the amount received, the court 
shall enter judgment against Amtrak for the deficiency.
    (c) Authority To Condemn Rail Carrier Property Interests.--(1) If 
Amtrak and a rail carrier cannot agree on a sale to Amtrak of an 
interest in property of a rail carrier necessary for intercity rail 
passenger transportation, Amtrak may apply to the Interstate Commerce 
Commission for an order establishing the need of Amtrak for the interest 
and requiring the carrier to convey the interest on reasonable terms, 
including just compensation. The need of Amtrak is deemed to be 
established, and the Commission, after holding an expedited proceeding 
and not later than 120 days after receiving the application, shall order 
the interest conveyed unless the Commission decides that--
        (A) conveyance would impair significantly the ability of the 
    carrier to carry out its obligations as a common carrier; and
        (B) the obligations of Amtrak to provide modern, efficient, and 
    economical rail passenger transportation can be met adequately by 
    acquiring an interest in other property, either by sale or by 
    exercising its right of eminent domain under subsection (a) of this 
    section.

    (2) If the amount of compensation is not determined by the date of 
the Commission's order, the order shall require, as part of the 
compensation, interest at 6 percent a year from the date prescribed for 
the conveyance until the compensation is paid.
    (3) Amtrak subsequently may reconvey to a third party an interest 
conveyed to Amtrak under this subsection or prior comparable provision 
of law if the Commission decides that the reconveyance will carry out 
the purposes of this part, regardless of when the proceeding was brought 
(including a proceeding pending before a United States court on November 
28, 1990).

(Pub. L. 103-272, Sec. 1(e), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 915.)

                                          Historical and Revision Notes
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------
           Revised  Section                    Source (U.S. Code)              
 Source (Statutes at Large)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------
24311(a)..............................  45:545(d)(1) (less words         Oct. 3
0, 1970, Pub. L. 91-518, 84 Stat.
                                         between 11th comma and           1327,
 Sec.  305(d)(1); added Nov. 3,
                                         proviso).                        1973,
 Pub. L. 93-146, Sec.  6, 87
                                                                          Stat.
 550; restated Oct. 28, 1974,
                                                                          Pub. 
L. 93-496, Sec.  6, 88 Stat.
                                                                          1528;
 Feb. 5, 1976, Pub. L. 94-210,
                                                                          Sec. 
 706(g), 90 Stat. 125; May 30,
                                                                          1980,
 Pub. L. 96-254, Sec.  206(a), 94
                                                                          Stat.
 412.
24311(b)(1)...........................  45:545(d)(1) (words between
                                         11th comma and proviso).
                                        45:545(d)(2), (3) (1st           Oct. 3
0, 1970, Pub. L. 91-518, 84 Stat.
                                         sentence).                       1327,
 Sec.  305(d)(2)-(5); added Nov.
                                                                          3, 19
73, Pub. L. 93-146, Sec.  6, 87
                                                                          Stat.
 550.
24311(b)(2)...........................  45:545(d)(3) (2d sentence),
                                         (5).
24311(b)(3)...........................  45:545(d)(3) (3d, last
                                         sentences).
24311(b)(4)...........................  45:545(d)(4).
24311(c)..............................  45:562(d).                       Oct. 3
0, 1970, Pub. L. 91-518, 84 Stat.
                                                                          1327,
 Sec.  402(d); added Nov. 3,
                                                                          1973,
 Pub. L. 93-146, Sec.  10(2), 87
                                                                          Stat.
 552; Feb. 5, 1976, Pub. L. 94-
                                                                          210, 
Sec.  706(h), 90 Stat. 125; May
                                                                          30, 1
980, Pub. L. 96-254, Sec.
                                                                          206(a
), 94 Stat. 412; Nov. 28, 1990,
                                                                          Pub. 
L. 101-641, Sec.  9(a), 104 Stat.
                                                                          4658.
                                        45:562 (note).                   Nov. 2
8, 1990, Pub. L. 101-641, Sec.
                                                                          9(b),
 104 Stat. 4658.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------

    In subsection (a)(1), before clause (A), the words ``the exercise of 
the right of'' and ``right-of-way, land, or other'' are omitted as 
surplus.
    In subsection (b)(1) and (2), the words ``estate or'' are omitted as 
surplus.
    In subsection (b)(1), before clause (A), the words ``A civil action 
to acquire an interest in property by eminent domain under subsection 
(a) of this section must be brought'' are added, the words ``any 
judicial district in which any piece of the property is located'' are 
substituted for ``any such court'', and the words ``under this 
subsection'' are added, for clarity.
    In subsection (b)(2), before clause (A), the words ``When the 
declaration is filed and the deposit is made under paragraph (1) of this 
subsection'' are substituted for ``shall thereupon'' for clarity. The 
word ``immediately'' is omitted as surplus. In clause (A), the words 
``possession of the property is given to Amtrak'' are substituted for 
``the parties in possession are required to surrender possession to the 
Corporation'' to eliminate unnecessary words. Clause (B) is substituted 
for 45:545(d)(5) (last sentence) to eliminate unnecessary words.
    In subsection (b)(3), the words ``of money'' are omitted as surplus. 
The words ``awarding that amount and interest on it'' are substituted 
for ``make an award and . . . accordingly. Such judgment shall include, 
as part of the just compensation awarded, interest'' to eliminate 
unnecessary words. The words ``of interest'' are added for clarity. The 
words ``finally . . . as the value of the property on the date of 
taking'' and ``on such date'' are omitted as surplus.
    In subsection (b)(4), the word ``award'' is substituted for 
``compensation finally awarded'' for consistency and to eliminate 
unnecessary words. The words ``of the money . . . by any person entitled 
to compensation'' and ``amount of the'' are omitted as surplus.
    In subsection (c)(1), before clause (A), the words ``terms for'', 
``at issue'', ``to the Corporation'', ``and conditions'', ``for the 
property'', ``in any event'', ``from the Corporation'', and ``to the 
Corporation on such reasonable terms and conditions as it may prescribe, 
including just compensation'' are omitted as surplus. In clause (A), the 
words ``of the property to the Corporation'' are omitted as surplus. In 
clause (B), the words ``either by sale or by exercising its right of 
eminent domain under subsection (a) of this section'' are substituted 
for ``which is available for sale on reasonable terms to the 
Corporation, or available to the Corporation by the exercise of its 
authority under section 545(d) of this title'' for clarity and to 
eliminate unnecessary words.
    In subsection (c)(3), the words ``reconvey . . . an interest 
conveyed to Amtrak under this subsection or prior comparable provision 
of law'' are substituted for ``convey title or other interest in such 
property'' for consistency in the revised title and to eliminate 
unnecessary words. The words ``regardless of when the proceeding was 
brought'' are substituted for section 9(b) (less words in parentheses) 
of the Independent Safety Board Act Amendments of 1990 (Public Law 101-
641, 104 Stat. 4658) to eliminate unnecessary words.

  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 702 of this 
title, and section 101 of Pub. L. 104-88, set out as a note under 
section 701 of this title. 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 701 of this 
title.
