Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad v. Public Service Commission

Citations

• 75 Pa. Super. 282
• 1920 Pa. Super. LEXIS 267

Syllabus

<p>Publio Service Commission — Railroad crossings — Alterations— Costs — Assessment of costs — Powers of the Public Service Commission.</p> <p>On a complaint to the Public Service Commission as to the dangerous character of a bridge over the tracks of a railroad company, an order by the commission which requires the respondent to “make such necessary and proper repairs to said bridge as to render it safe to meet the requirements of the traveling public and in a manner satisfactory to the commission, the nature and extent of such repairs to be reported in detail to the commission immediately upon completion thereof,” is so indefinite and uncertain in its provisions as to be unreasonable and not in conformity with law. There is nothing in the report showing what repairs are necessary or proper or what will be satisfactory to the commission.</p> <p>In a proceeding before the Public Service Commission relative to the dangerous condition of a bridge over the tracks of a railroad company, the commission has exclusive jurisdiction to determine the just and reasonable manner in which a public highway may be constructed across the tracks or other facilities of a railroad. The expense in such case must be borne by the public service company or municipal corporations concerned, or the Commonwealth, in such proportion as the Public Service Commission may determine. In the assessment of the costs the jurisdiction of the commission ig not limited to the public service companies, but attaches to all the municipal corporations concerned.</p> <p>Any agreement between a railroad company and a municipality providing for the maintenance of a crossing over the tracks and facilities of the former must be held to have been made subject to the lawful exercise of the police power, which at any time might be invoked and require that the railroad company be called upon to maintain the bridge notwithstanding the agreement of the municipality to do so.</p>