To require railroad companies to provide alternative entry and exit ways

HB 4700 Text

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Introduced Version

House Bill 4700 History

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Key:
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Red
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WEST virginia legislature
2026 regular session
House Bill 4700
By Delegate Holstein
[Introduced January 21, 2026; referred to the Committee on Energy and Public Works]
A BILL to amend and reenact §17-4-8 and §31-2A-2 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to use of state roads for rail crossing; requiring cooperation between the rail company and the Division of Highways when construction or maintenance activities are conducted by the company; and requiring railroad companies to provide alternative entry and exit ways in certain circumstances.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

CHAPTER 17. ROADS AND HIGHWAYS.

ARTICLE 4. STATE ROAD SYSTEM.

§17-4-8. Use of roadbed by railroad, telephone company, etc.

No railroad or electric or other railway
shall

may
be constructed
or maintained
upon the roadbed of any state road, except to cross the same, nor
upon any state road except under such restrictions, conditions and regulations as may be prescribed by the Commissioner of the Division of Highways.

Nor

shall

may
any person, firm, or corporation enter upon or construct any works in or upon
such

a state
road, or lay or maintain thereon or thereunder any drainage, sewer or water pipes, gas pipes, electric conduits or other pipes, nor shall any telephone, telegraph or electric line or power pole, or any other structure whatsoever, be erected upon, in or over any portion of a state road, except under such restrictions, conditions and regulations as may be prescribed by the
state Road
commissioner
of the Division of Highways.
Whenever any railroad or electric or other railway, heretofore or hereafter constructed,
shall

cross

crosses
any state road, it shall be required to keep its own roadbed, and the bed of the road or highway at
such

the
crossing, in proper repair, or else to construct and maintain an overhead or undergrade crossing, subject to the approval of the
State Road Commissioner; and the

commissioner of the Division of Highways. The
tracks of such
a
railroad or railway at grade crossings shall be so constructed as to give a safe and easy approach to and across the
same, and when

tracks. When
the construction of
such

these
approaches is made necessary by a change in the railroad grade at the grade crossing, the cost shall be upon the railway company.
The commissioner of the Division of Highways shall enter into a mutually agreeable memorandum of understanding with each operating railway company that seeks to temporarily close down a state road, detailing a process to coordinate road closures with the Division of Highways, communicate plans to the public, and minimize disruption of these closures.

CHAPTER 31. CORPORATIONS.

ARTICLE 2A. RAILROAD CROSSING.

§31-2A-2. Blocking of crossing prohibited; time limit.

(a) It is unlawful for any railroad company, except in an emergency, to order, allow or permit the operation of or to operate or to so operate its system so that a train blocks the passage of vehicular traffic over the railroad crossing of any public street, road or highway of this state for a period longer than 10 minutes. This section does not apply to an obstruction of any such street, road or highway caused by a continuously moving train or caused by circumstances wholly beyond the control of the railroad, but does apply to all other obstructions as aforesaid, including, but not limited to, those caused by a stopped train or a train engaged in switching, loading or unloading operations:
Provided,
That if any such train is within the jurisdictional limits of any municipality which now has or hereafter
shall have

has
in force and effect an ordinance limiting the time a railroad crossing may be blocked by a train,
such

the
ordinance shall govern, and the provisions of this article
shall

may
not be applicable.
(b) Upon receiving notification from a law-enforcement officer, member of a fire department, operator of an emergency medical vehicle, or a member of an emergency services provider that emergency circumstances require the immediate clearing of a public highway railroad grade crossing, the members of the train crew of the train, railroad car or equipment, or engine blocking such crossing shall immediately notify the appropriate railroad dispatcher of the pending emergency situation. Upon receipt of notice of such emergency circumstances by the train crew or dispatcher, the railroad shall immediately clear the crossing, consistent with the safe operation of the train.
(c) A temporary alternate method of entry and exit shall be provided for emergency medical service vehicles by any operating railroad company that closes down a state road when performing maintenance, repairs, or construction when, for a time period of greater than 24 hours, the maintenance, repairs, or construction are occurring along a road that serves as the sole entry and exit way for residents, as a matter of public health of citizens and employees of the state of West Virginia and employees of railroad companies.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require railroad companies to provide an alternative entry and exit way to one road communities when performing maintenance, repairs, and construction as a matter of public health and safety.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.

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