If one looks at the early cases involving eminent domain, a significant number of them involved railroads exercising that right, such as in the landmark cases of South Buffalo Ry. v. Kirkover, 176 N.Y. 301 (1903) and Story v. New York Elevated R. Co., 90 N.Y. 122 (1882). The former established the right in a partial condemnation to consequential damages based on the use to which the part condemned is put. The latter established the rights of abutting owners when there is a taking of an interest in the street on which their property faces which impinges on their easements of light, air and access. On the other hand, you cannot find a reported case in New York on how just compensation is determined where railroad lands had been condemned. That is until the recent case of N.Y. Central Lines v. State of N.Y., 2012 NY Slip op. 08704 decided Dec. 19, 2012. The authors’ firm was claimant’s counsel representing the railroad company.

Railroads and Jurisdiction

That there are so few such takings is not an accident. To start with, railroads are subject to federal jurisdiction, namely the Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act of 1995 (49 USC §10101, et seq.) which must approve any such interference with a railroad operation. Matter of Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York & Atlantic Railway), 32 AD3d 943 (2d Dept. 2006). Secondly, railroads had the right of condemnation (N.Y.R.R. Law §17 [McKinney]) and thus their property cannot be condemned by an entity whose jurisdiction is equal to theirs unless it had specifically been granted that power. ( Long Island Rail Rd. Co. v. Long Island Lighting Co., 103 AD2d 156 (2d Dept. 1984))