Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has the exclusive power to, among other things, determine and prescribe the manner and the terms of installation, operation, maintenance, use, and protection of railroad crossings. Existing law prohibits the construction of a public road, highway, or street across the track of any railroad corporation at grade and other specified actions with regard to railroad crossings without the permission of the commission.
This bill would require an application for a railroad crossing to include, at a minimum, certain information concerning the proposed railroad crossing. The bill would authorize the commission to partially or completely exempt railroad crossing applications that meet certain requirements from review under otherwise applicable adjudication procedures and would authorize the commission to establish an expedited review and approval process for those applications.