§ 97. Intercity rail passenger service. 1. As used in this section,
unless a different meaning clearly appears from the context, the term:

a. "Intercity rail passenger service" shall mean any intercity rail
passenger transportation operation where rail passenger trains operate
on a regular scheduled basis.

b. "Intercity rail passenger service corridor" shall mean a continuous
railroad route which contains one or more segments of railroad track or
tracks where intercity rail passenger service is in operation by the
national rail passenger corporation.

c. "Public rail crossing" shall mean a crossing where a highway,
roadway or similar facility, which is owned by a government, either
federal, state or local, a public authority or a public agency, crosses
a railroad track or tracks, is open to the public and has been
designated as such by order of the commissioner, or recognized as having
been a public at-grade crossing prior to eighteen hundred ninety-seven.

d. "Private rail crossing" shall mean a crossing which traverses a
railroad track or tracks and may be used by the owner of the
right-of-way, the owner's invitees and others, including the public, but
has not been declared or recognized as a public rail crossing by the
commissioner.

e. "Railroad" shall mean a private or public railroad operating in the
state of New York carrying either freight or passengers or freight and
passengers including, but not limited to, those operated by the
metropolitan transportation authority and its subsidiaries, including
the Long Island Rail Road or operated by any other public authority or
local government.

2. No new private rail crossings shall be established in an intercity
rail passenger service corridor until an application has been made to
and approved by the commissioner. Whenever an application is made, the
commissioner shall conduct a hearing to determine if a private rail
crossing is justified or if an existing public or private crossing could
be used to avoid the creation of a new crossing. If the commissioner
determines that a crossing is justified and is in the best interest of
the people of the state of New York, the commissioner shall determine
the manner of the crossing, whether it is to be at-grade or
grade-separated, the location, the manner of protection and the
apportionment of responsibility for the maintenance of any such
crossing, including any warning devices.

3. In order to insure public safety, the commissioner may, if he or
she determines it appropriate, require alterations in an existing
private rail crossing, including a farm crossing, which is located in an
intercity rail passenger service corridor and is hereby authorized to
participate in the cost of such alterations. In the event that an
agreement on such alterations cannot be reached between the railroad
owning the crossing, property owners who are directly impacted by the
crossing and the department, the commissioner shall conduct a hearing on
the need for such alterations and whether any other alternatives are
available, including the use of an alternate route or the closure of the
crossing and shall, where applicable, determine the apportionment of
responsibility for the alteration and maintenance of any such crossing,
including any warning devices. Public comment shall be sought on any
proposed alteration or closure which will impact public access to lands
open to the public for recreational use. Comments received from the
public shall be considered in any decision to alter or close such a
crossing. No crossing which provides direct access to public state
recreational lands shall be closed unless the commissioner, in
consultation with the state agency with jurisdiction over such lands,
finds that there is a reasonable alternate route to such lands that
maintains public access to and the public recreational value of such
lands.

4. The commissioner shall prepare and promulgate standards and
specifications for the design and protection of private rail crossings
in an intercity rail passenger service corridor and is authorized to
adopt and promulgate such rules and regulations to accomplish this as
shall be deemed necessary.

5. The commissioner shall have the power to acquire any real property,
easements, rights-of-way or similar rights necessary for the purposes of
this article in the same manner as property is acquired for state
highway purposes pursuant to the provisions of section thirty of the
highway law.