(a) The commissioner may purchase or take and, in the name of the state, may acquire title in fee simple to, or any lesser estate, interest or right in, any land, buildings, equipment or facilities which the commissioner finds necessary for the operation or improvement of transportation services. The determination by the commissioner that such purchase or taking is necessary shall be conclusive. Such taking shall be in the manner prescribed in subsection (b) of section 13a-73 for the taking of land for state highways.

(b) The commissioner may sell, lease, convey or enter into any other arrangement for the use of such property for the operation of transportation services, or for such other purposes as the commissioner determines to be consistent with the best interests of the state.

(c) Any company or corporation which conducts or has conducted rail operations in the state shall not, except as provided for in this subsection, sell, lease, transfer or otherwise dispose of any railroad properties and related facilities within the state that are abandoned, inactive or currently being used for railroad purposes to any party, without first offering such properties and facilities for sale to the Commissioner of Transportation. This provision shall not apply to any rail related facility that is to be replaced as a result of a rehabilitation program or emergency or routine maintenance programs. Such offer shall be made in writing and shall be sent by certified mail to the Commissioner of Transportation. Such offer shall include a map and description of the subject properties or facilities, the price, if available, for such properties or facilities, a description of the present or past railroad use of the subject property or facilities, and any other terms or conditions said company or corporation proposes to include as part of such sale. The commissioner, upon receipt of such offer, shall within forty-five days notify said company or corporation, in writing by certified mail, whether he is interested in acquiring the subject properties or facilities. Within one hundred thirty-five days of such written notice, the commissioner shall notify said company or corporation in writing by certified mail that he shall acquire such properties or facilities or that he shall not accept such offer and shall not acquire such properties or facilities. In no event shall said company or corporation offer to sell any railroad properties or related facilities which were the subject of negotiations between the commissioner and said company or corporation to any other party on terms more favorable to said party than the final terms offered to the commissioner during negotiations. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent a railroad company from transferring rail facilities within its own system or from selling, leasing or transferring or otherwise disposing of railroad properties or related facilities currently in use to another party provided that in no event shall the sale, lease, transfer or other disposition of such properties or facilities result in the discontinuance of existing rail service in the state. For the purposes of this section, the terms railroad properties and related facilities shall mean all the land, structures, buildings, rails, ties, ballast, signals and materials that have been or are used for rail transportation purposes and that are located either within the right-of-way as defined by railroad valuation maps or other suitable maps or abutting such right-of-way.

(1969, P.A. 768, S. 30; P.A. 74-342, S. 37, 43; P.A. 79-167, S. 1, 2; P.A. 02-123, S. 4; P.A. 18-167, S. 3.)

History: P.A. 74-342 deleted “rail or motor carrier” in Subsecs. (a) and (b) and substituted “transportation”; P.A. 79-167 added new Subsec. (c) providing for offering first refusal to the state by companies disposing of railroad properties and facilities; P.A. 02-123 amended Subsec. (a) to require that taking be in the manner prescribed in Sec. 13a-73(b) for the taking of land for state highways, in lieu of Sec. 48-12 for the taking of land for state institutions, effective June 7, 2002; P.A. 18-167 amended Subsec. (c) to delete provision re express finding made in accordance with Sec. 13b-35.

Subsec. (a):

Cited. 209 C. 480. The term “facilities” does not include intangible operating rights, such as a government issued certificate permitting a bus company the right to operate over a given route, and section does not permit commissioner to take intangible operating rights by eminent domain. 324 C. 39.

A proceeding to reassess damages in connection with the condemnation of real property interests by state pursuant to Sec. 13a-76 did not affect title to real property because the proceeding did not have an influence on or bring about a change in the ownership of the properties. 121 CA 13.