Railroad industry group claims new Virginia law shifts permitting power from railroads to broadband providers

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) seeks to void a Virginia bill streamlining railroad crossing requests for broadband providers, claiming it shifts permitting power from the railroad owners to broadband providers. The law, which took effect on July 1, caps railroad crossing fees at $2,000 per crossing and requires broadband providers to reimburse railroad companies no more than $5,000 for expenses the railroads may incur. Also, railroads have 35 days to review a provider’s crossing request. In a lawsuit, AAR stated the new law “treats railroads unlike any other landowner, seizing from them and giving to broadband service providers a permanent easement to access and occupy railroad lands.” AAR went on to say the law doesn’t authorize a railroad to reject a proposed crossings installation for failing to comply with railroad safety requirements. Virginia’s statute also “provides no mechanism” for how to relocate permanent crossings in case a railroad needs to upgrade its network, such as adding sidings to serve more customers. State Senator Bill Stanley (R- Glade Hill), who introduced the bill, said he isn’t surprised by AAR’s litigation, given “the railroads engaged in bullying our Virginia broadband companies that were seeking a fair and equitable solution to this problem during the 2023 legislative session.” Sen Stanley claimed Virginia railroad companies “are now doing everything that they can” to prevent economic revitalization and fiber buildouts in the Southwest and Southside regions of the state.