49 U.S.C. § 28503 — Surface Transportation Board mediation of rights-of-way use requests

If a public transportation authority tries, for a reasonable time, to negotiate with a rail carrier so the authority can acquire an interest in the carrier's railroad right-of-way — the strip of land the railroad uses — in order to build and run a segregated fixed guideway facility (a separate track built inside that right-of-way) for commuter rail passenger transportation, but the two sides cannot reach an agreement, either the public transportation authority or the rail carrier may ask the Surface Transportation Board for help. The Board must hold nonbinding mediation, following the same procedure in section 1109.4 of title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations, using the version in effect when this section became law.