§ 8-5-1-1 — Powers and duties; enumeration

Any street railroad company organized before or
after March 11, 1901, under Indiana statutes and desiring to construct
or acquire, or having before March 11, 1901, constructed or acquired,
any street railroad, interurban street railroad, or suburban street
railroad, shall, in addition to the rights, privileges, and powers given
and granted by statute before March 11, 1901, to street railroad
companies, possess the general powers and be subject to the liabilities
and restrictions expressed in the special powers following:
First, to cause such examination and surveys for the proposed
railroad to be made as may be necessary to the selection of the
most advantageous route for the railroad, and, for such purposes,
by their officers, agents, and servants, to enter upon the lands or
waters of any person, but subject to responsibility for all damages
which they shall do thereto.
Second, to receive, hold, and take such voluntary grants and
donations of real estate and other personal property as shall be
made to it to aid in the construction, maintenance, and
accommodation of such railroad; but the real estate thus received
by voluntary grants shall be held and used for the purpose of such
grants only.
Third, to purchase, or by voluntary grants and donations, or by the
special proceedings provided in this chapter, receive, acquire, and
take, and by its officers, engineers, surveyors, and agents enter
upon, take possession of, hold, and use, all such lands and real
estate and other property as may be necessary for the
construction, maintenance, and operation of its railroads, railroad
stations, depots, powerhouses, shops, carbarns, offices, lines for
transmission of electricity for heat, light, and power for such
companies or the public, which transmission lines may be on the
line of said railroad or elsewhere, as such company may desire,
and other accommodations necessary to accomplish the objects
for which the corporation is created, but not until the
compensation to be made therefor, as agreed upon by the parties
or ascertained as provided in this chapter, shall have been paid to
the owner or owners thereof or deposited as in this chapter
directed, unless the consent of such owner be given to enter into
possession.
Fourth, to lay out its road or any part thereof, not exceeding four
(4) rods wide, and to construct, maintain, and operate the same,
and for the purpose of cuttings, embankments, and procuring
stone and gravel, it may take as much more lands, which lands if
taken for stone or gravel may be adjacent to the line of said road
or elsewhere, in the manner provided in this chapter, as its
directors may deem necessary for the proper construction and
security of the road.
Fifth, to construct its road across any stream of water,
watercourse, road, highway, railroad, or canal, so as not to
interfere with the free use of the same, which the route of its road
shall intersect, in such manner as to afford security for life and
property, and, with the consent of the authorities of the proper
county, town, or city, on any street, road, or highway, but the
corporation shall restore the stream or watercourse, street, road,
or highway to its former state, or in a sufficient manner not to
unnecessarily impair its usefulness or injure its franchises. And
in case such street railroad company shall cross the tracks of any
other street railroad company or any railroad company, if the two
(2) corporations can not agree upon the amount of compensation
to be made therefor, the same shall be ascertained and determined
by commissioners to be appointed as is provided in this chapter
in respect to the taking of lands; provided, however, that such
rights as street railroad companies may have under statutes
existing on March 11, 1901, without agreement with the company
to be crossed, and without resorting to the special proceedings
prescribed in this chapter, to construct, maintain, and operate their
street railroads, interurban street railroads, or suburban street
railroads across any railroad or street railroad on any street, road,
or highway on which such street railroad companies may be
legally authorized to operate, shall not be diminished or impaired
by anything in this chapter contained.
Sixth, to maintain and operate, and to that end to construct,
purchase, lease, or otherwise acquire, and own or control, street
railroad, interurban street railroad, or suburban street railroad
lines and systems, constructed or in process of construction, or
any part or parts thereof, and property appertaining thereto or to
be used in connection therewith, in, through, between and
connecting the towns and cities, or any of them, named in its
articles of association, or those of its constituent companies, or
which lines and systems, or part or parts thereof, connect, or will
connect, with its lines and system of street railroad interurban
street railroad or suburban street railroad, and to take, transport,
carry, and convey passengers and property on its said railroad
lines and systems by such force as it is permitted to use for such
purpose, and to receive tolls and compensation therefor.
Seventh, to erect and maintain all necessary and convenient
buildings, stations, depots, fixtures, and machinery for the
accommodation and use of its business, and to obtain and hold the
lands necessary therefor.
Eighth, to regulate the time and manner in which passengers and
property shall be transported, and the tolls and compensation to
be paid therefor; provided, however, that nothing contained in this
chapter shall take away from the towns and cities the power to
regulate and fix the tolls and compensation for such transportation
within such cities and towns, as a condition to the grant of the
right to operate therein; and nothing in this chapter shall be
construed to give any street railroad company the right to
construct or operate a railroad in any city or town without first
getting the consent of the proper authorities of the city or town to
such construction and operation.
Ninth, if, at any time after the location or construction, in whole
or in part, of such street railroad, interurban street railroad, or
suburban street railroad, it shall appear to a majority of the
directors of such company that the line of such railroad is
unnecessarily dangerous, inconvenient, or expensive to operate by
reason of grades, curves, or other physical conditions affecting the
construction, maintenance, or operation of such road, or that, for
any other reason, the location of such street railroad, interurban
street railroad, or suburban street railroad should be changed, it
may make alterations in its line and route, and for that purpose
may enter upon, take, and hold the real estate necessary therefor
in the manner and by the special proceedings prescribed in this
chapter.
Tenth, to make such changes in the grade or the line of highways
as it may be directed or permitted to make by the proper county
commissioners, with the view to the safety or the convenience of
the public, or the better alignment or construction of such
railroad, and to take by the special proceedings described in this
chapter such lands as may be necessary for such changes.
Formerly: Acts 1901, c.207, s.1; Acts 1903, c.36, s.1. As
amended by P.L.62-1984, SEC.91.