No public road, highway, or street shall be constructed across the track of any railroad corporation at grade, nor shall the track of any railroad corporation be constructed across a public road, highway, or street at grade, or shall the track of any railroad corporation be constructed across the track of any other railroad or street railroad corporation at grade, nor shall the track of a street railroad corporation be constructed across the track of a railroad corporation at grade, without having first secured the permission of the commission. This section shall not apply to the replacement of lawfully existing tracks. The commission may refuse its permission or grant it upon such terms and conditions as it prescribes.

The commission, in consultation with the Department of Transportation, shall adopt rules and regulations prescribing uniform standards regarding the time after the warning signal begins at a railroad crossing at which traffic enforcement shall begin, after public hearings and consultation with transit districts or transportation commissions and multicounty rail transit entities established under Division 12 (commencing with Section 130000), that provide rail transportation.

An application for a railroad crossing submitted pursuant to Sections 1201 to 1205, inclusive, shall, at a minimum, include all of the following information:

the proposed crossing.

The commission has the exclusive power:

limited to, represented railroad employees.

In any proceeding under Section 1202, where the application to the commission states that the parties are not in agreement as to apportionment of costs, but the applicant is willing to advance the amount of money reasonably necessary to enable the respondent to complete the work to be done by it, the commission shall set the application for hearing as soon as its calendar permits on all of the following questions:

In the event of the failure or refusal of the respondent to grant a right of entry to permit the applicant to proceed with the work to be performed by it or its contractor, the applicant may, pursuant to Section 19 of Article I of the Constitution, obtain an order of immediate possession in a court of competent jurisdiction if a condemnation action has previously been filed in that court, or file the action and obtain an order of immediate possession in the event the action has not previously been filed. Upon obtaining the order, the applicant may proceed in the same manner as if a right of entry had been granted, and the respondent shall proceed with its own work and integrate it with that of the applicant or its contractor.

In the final decision apportioning costs, the commission shall credit the sum advanced by the applicant against the applicant’s share of the costs. In the final decision, the commission shall also credit against the applicant’s share of the costs any increases in those costs found by the commission to be directly attributable to the respondent’s willful failure or refusal, after the effective date of the interim decision, to proceed with its own work or to integrate its work with that of the applicant or its contractor.

In apportioning the cost of maintenance of automatic grade-crossing protection constructed or altered after October 1, 1965 under Section 1202, as between the railroad or street railroad corporations and the public agencies affected, the commission shall divide such maintenance cost in the same proportion as the cost of constructing such automatic grade-crossing protection is divided. The liability of cities, counties and cities and counties to pay the share of maintenance costs assigned to such local agencies by the commission shall be limited to funds set aside for allocation to the commission pursuant to Section 1231.1. The railroad or street railroad corporations and the public agencies affected may agree on a different division of maintenance costs. If the public agency affected agrees to assume a greater proportion of the cost of maintenance than the apportionment of the cost of construction, the difference shall be paid by the public agency from funds other than the State Highway Fund or any other state fund.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, in any proceeding under Section 1202, in the case of a crossing involving a publicly used road or highway not on a publicly maintained road system, the commission may apportion expense for improvements to the county in the case of unincorporated territory, city or other political subdivision if the commission finds (a) that the owner or owners of private property served by such publicly used crossing agree to expressly dedicate and improve, and the affected public agency agrees to accept, a right-of-way or roadway over such property for a reasonable distance from such crossing as determined by the commission, or (b) that a judicial determination of implied dedication of such road or highway over the railroad right-of-way to public use, based on public user in the manner and for the time required by law, has taken place.

If neither of these conditions is found to exist, the commission shall order the crossing abolished by physical closing.

In no event shall a railroad be required to bear costs for the improvement of a publicly used crossing in excess of what it would be required to bear in connection with the improvement of a public street or highway crossing.

If a city or county develops and adopts, by resolution upon a majority vote of the city council or the board of supervisors, a plan to improve mobility for multimodal access that calls for new or modified railroad crossings, the commission shall make an engineer available from the Rail Crossings and Engineering Branch to assist and advise that city or county on the safety of the planned railroad crossings before the filing of an application to the commission for the approval of the new or modified railroad crossings.

In prescribing the proportions in which the expense of construction, reconstruction, alteration, or relocation of grade separations shall be divided between railroad or street railroad corporations and public agencies, in proceedings under Section 1202, the commission, unless otherwise provided in this section, shall be governed by the following standards:

Where the project consists of an alteration or reconstruction of an existing grade separation for the purpose of increasing the capacity of the structure for railway purposes, the commission shall apportion 10 percent of the cost against the public agency or agencies affected and the balance against the railroad applying for authorization to alter or reconstruct the grade separation. There shall be no apportionment of cost to the public agency or agencies if the agency or agencies did not bear any of the cost of the original project, in which case the railroad shall pay 100 percent of the cost of the alteration or reconstruction of the grade separation.

As used in this section “public agency” includes a separation of grade district, as well as the state, a county, city, or other political subdivision.

Any municipal corporation, transit district, rapid transit district, or other public entity which provides rail passenger transportation services through a contract with a railroad corporation, may pay all or part of the share of a grade separation project allocated to such railroad corporation, or all or part of such share of a project’s cost negotiated and agreed upon as the railroad’s share by the railroad and a public agency or agencies pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1202.5. In any case where the municipal corporation, transit district, rapid transit district, or other public entity agrees to pay all or part of the railroad’s share, it may enter into the negotiations allocating costs and may be a party to the agreement assessing such costs.

Whenever existing automatic grade-crossing safety signal equipment that was installed within the previous 10 years is planned for removal due to upgrade or closure projects undertaken pursuant to Section 130 of Title 23 of the United States Code, and the commission determines that it will meet the same performance criteria and inspection standards as new equipment and therefore be safe to use, the signal equipment shall be made available to the following:

Each corporation and political subdivision to which any of the expense is apportioned shall pay from the funds available therefor in its treasury the amount apportioned to it at the time and to the parties specified by the order of the commission. If that amount is not so paid the corporation or political subdivision entitled thereto under the order may sue therefor in any court of competent jurisdiction. If no such funds are available the appropriate boards, officers, and employees intrusted with the levy and collection of the taxes or assessments of such political subdivision shall do all acts necessary to include in the next succeeding tax or assessment levy the amount due and shall collect that amount, whereupon the amount due shall be paid in accordance with the commission’s order. The commission may by order designate the State, certain of the corporations, and political subdivisions affected, to do all or specified portions of the acts required by any order of the commission made under the provisions of Sections 1202 to 1205, inclusive, and may prescribe the manner and the time within which the parties so designated shall be paid or reimbursed by the other corporations, the State, and political subdivisions among which the expense of the work has been apportioned by the commission.

If the legislative body of the political subdivision determines that special benefits will accrue from the separation of grades to one or more districts within the political subdivision, and has made a finding to that effect and that the cost thereof, other than the portion to be paid by the railroad, interurban railroad, or street railroad involved, should be paid by such district or partly by the district and partly by the political subdivision, the commission may provide that such proportion of the total cost of the separation of grades, including the acquisition of property and the damage to property or an interest therein, as is not payable by the owners of the railroad, interurban railroad, or street railroad involved, may be assessed upon the district or that a part thereof may be paid by the district and a part by the political subdivision in accordance with the finding of the legislative body of the latter. The commission may provide that the physical work of making the grade separation as well as the proceedings for letting contracts therefor, collecting and enforcing the assessments, and making payment for damages and for the acquisition of property shall be done through the agency of the political subdivision in accordance with law. The order of the commission shall authorize the officers of the political subdivision to enter upon so much of the right of way of the railroad, interurban railroad, or street railroad as is necessary to effect the physical grade separation.

If any order of the commission provides for the payment of a portion of the cost of any such grade separation by a political subdivision without authorizing the assessment of all or any part thereof upon a benefited district, the legislative body of the political subdivision may at any time thereafter apply to the commission to have the order modified in accordance with any finding made by the legislative body, and the commission may thereupon make a new or modified order in the same manner as if such application had been made to it before the making of the order.

shall, at minimum, require public notice of the application and service of the application to relevant stakeholders, including, but not limited to, railroads, rail transit agencies, and local authorities, including county and regional transportation authorities. The resolution of an exempt railroad crossing application shall be publicly noticed on the commission’s voting agenda and be subject to public comment.

The commission may fix the just compensation to be paid for property or any interest in or to property to be taken or damaged in the separation of grades at any crossing specified in Section 1202, or for property or any interest in or to property to be taken or damaged in the construction, alteration, or relocation, under the order or with the approval of the commission, of elevated tracks or subways for any railroad or street railroad over or under any public road, street, highway, or private right-of-way, or of any public road, street, or highway over or under the tracks of any railroad corporation or street railroad corporation, and upon the payment of the compensation so fixed may make a final order of condemnation.

Proceedings under Section 1206 may be commenced by order on the commission’s own motion or by a petition filed by the State, county, city and county, city, political subdivision, railroad corporation, or street railroad corporation affected. Any such proceeding may be made a part of any proceeding commenced under Sections 1202 to 1205, inclusive.

The petition shall set forth the name and interest of the petitioner. The order on the commission’s own motion and the petition shall set forth (a) a statement of the purpose of the proceedings and the use for which property or interest in or to property is sought to be taken, (b) a decription of each piece of land or other property or interest in or to property sought to be taken, and whether it includes the whole or only a part of an entire parcel or tract or piece of property or interest in or to property, and (c) the names and addresses of all owners and claimants thereof, if known, or a statement that they are unknown, and a statement of each railroad corporation, the State and political subdivision which in the opinion of the commission or the petitioner has an interest in the proceeding.

The petition shall pray (a) that the commission fix the just compensation to be paid for the acquisition of or damage to the property and interest in or to property specified in the petition, (b) that the commission designate the party or parties to the proceeding who shall pay such compensation and the owners and claimants of the property and interest in or to property condemned to whom such compensation shall be paid, and (c) that the commission make its final order of condemnation. When the proceeding is commenced by order on the commission’s own motion such matters shall be included in the statement of the purpose of the proceeding.

The petition shall be verified. At the time it is filed with the commission the petitioner shall also file additional copies thereof equal in number to three more than the number of owners and claimants named in the petition.

Upon the filing of the petition or the making of the order on the commission’s own motion, the commission shall make its order to show cause. The order shall (a) specify the nature of the proceeding, (b) contain a general description of the property and interest to be condemned, and (c) direct the owners and claimants and the railroad corporations, street railroad corporations, and governmental authorities in interest named in the petition or order on the commission’s own motion, who shall also be named in the order to show cause, to appear before the commission at a time and place specified in the order, to show cause, if any they have, why the commission should not proceed after hearing to fix the just compensation to be paid for the acquisition of or damages to the specified property and interest, to designate the party or parties to the proceeding who shall pay such compensation and the owners and claimants to whom such compensation shall be paid, and to make its final order of condemnation.

The order to show cause shall direct the secretary of the commission to serve or cause to be served upon each owner and claimant, railroad corporation, street railroad corporation, and governmental authority in interest a copy of the order certified under the seal of the commission to which shall be attached a copy of the petition or order on the commission’s own motion.

When the proceeding is commenced by order on the commission’s own motion the order to show cause may be incorporated in the order on the commission’s own motion.

Personal service shall be made in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure or by depositing a copy of the order to show cause certified under seal of the commission with a copy of the petition or order on the commission’s own motion attached thereto or made a part thereof in the United States mail, enclosed in a sealed envelope, registered, with postage prepaid, addressed to the party to be served.