Railroad companies can interact with and control others in many ways. These relationships can be complicated by bankruptcies. This is the top-level page of WikiProject trains Rail tracks Rail transport refers to the land transport of passengers and goods along railways or railroads. ... Bankruptcy is a legally declared inability or impairment of ability of an individual or organization to pay their creditors. ...

Operating

Often, when a railroad first opens, it is only a short spur of a main line. The spur line may contract with the main line for operation of the trains, either as a separate line or as a branch with through service. This agreement may continue as the former railroad expands, or may be temporary until the line is completed.

If the operating company goes bankrupt, the contract ends and the operated company must operate itself.

Leasing

A major railroad may lease a connecting line from another company, usually the latter company's full system. A typical lease results in the former railroad (the lessee) paying the latter company (the lessor) a certain yearly rate in order to have full control of the lessor's lines. This article or section should include material from Tenancy agreement A lease is a contract conveying from one person (the lessor) to another person (the lessee) the right to use and control some article of property for a specified period of time (the term), without conveying ownership, in exchange for...

If the lessee goes bankrupt, the lessor is released from the lease.

Stock ownership

Most railroad companies are publicly traded with stocks. As the stockholders control the company, one railroad company can buy a majority of stock of another one in order to control it. Sometimes a bridge line, a railroad that has a majority of traffic coming from points not on its line, is owned equally by the companies that use it (via trackage rights). A publicly traded corporation often refers to a company whose shares are traded on the open market, such as a stock market. ... A shareholder or stockholder is an individual or company (including a corporation), that legally owns one or more shares of stock in a joint stock company. ... A stock, also referred to as a share, is commonly a share of ownership in a corporation. ...

If the owned company goes bankrupt, its stock is worthless, and the owner no longer controls it (unless it buys it back at auction).

Consolidation

Consolidation happens when two railroad companies are consolidated. It is often the last step in an arrangement between two railroads, and is hard to undo, except in the case of bankruptcy, when different parts of the railroad may be sold to different buyers at auction. Consolidation is the act of merging many things into one. ...

Trackage rights

Trackage rights or running rights is an arrangement where the company that owns the line retains all rights, but allows another company to operate over certain sections of its track. The agreement may specify whether the latter company can serve customers on the line. In some cases, the former company may opt to not run any trains over the line but still own it; this can also be done via a partial lease.

A union station typically involves trackage rights; the company that owns the station and associated trackage is typically A union station or union terminal is a train station where tracks and facilities are shared by two or more railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently between them. ...

Haulage agreement

A haulage agreement is similar to one of trackage rights, but the railroad that owns the line operates the power for the cars of the latter company.

History

Originally, at least in the United States, it was not clear whether railroads were going to be run like turnpikes, in which any paying customer could use the road. The Seekonk Branch Railroad in East Providence, Rhode Island (then part of Seekonk, Massachusetts) tested this by in 1836 building a short branch of the Boston and Providence Railroad to their own dock and using the full line of the B&P. Massachusetts passed a law prohibiting this, and the B&P bought the branch in 1839. A toll road, turnpike or tollpike is a road on which a toll authority collects a fee for use. ... East Providence is a city located in Providence County, Rhode Island. ... The Town of Seekonk is a suburban community on the Rhode Island border. ... 1836 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... The Attleboro/Stoughton Line is a line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system running southwest from Boston, Massachusetts, USA. The main line was originally built by the Boston and Providence Railroad, and now carries service during the week between Boston and Providence, Rhode Island, and weekend service to South Attleboro. ... 1839 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...