Real Estate Contacts

Road Crossings

The Maryland and Delaware Railroad Company (MDDE) supports the U.S. Department of Transportation’s initiative to reduce the number of highway-rail grade crossings. As a result, requests for a new highway-rail grade crossing, whether public or private, will be reviewed with extreme scrutiny. Instead of building a new crossing, MDDE strongly encourages the use of alternate access by way of parallel or other roads leading to existing highway-rail grade crossings.

The following requirements must be met when applying for a new highway-rail grade crossing (public or private) on any property owned by The Maryland and Delaware Railroad Company.

Application (with Plans/Drawings)

A fully completed License Agreement Application Form must be submitted along with plans and drawings of the proposed project. However, before beginning an application, please see our Right of Entry Flow Chart to determine whether to follow the process on this page (for our Snow Hill Line), or whether you should immediately contact MTA (Centreville, Chestertown and Seaford Lines) for next steps.

Processing Fee

A non-refundable application fee of $1,000 must be submitted with the application. Checks must be made payable to The Maryland and Delaware Railroad Company.

Access

If access onto MDDE-owned property is required to obtain necessary information for the application then a Right of Entry Permit must first be obtained. A Right of Entry Application is a separate application and requires the submission of a non-refundable $1,000 fee (due when the Right of Entry Application is submitted).

Construction/Engineering Specifications

Please refer to our System Track Standards as needed to answer questions regarding permitted engineering and design standards.

Exhibits/Sketches

The applicant must provide an exhibit/sketch of the property in question, with dimensions, with all applications. Planned improvements on the property, with dimensions from the nearest track, must also be depicted, with as many details or landmarks as possible to identify the premises.

For specific Exhibit requirements please refer to the System Track Standards.

Maps

A general location map of the property must accompany an application. Examples include such data as county highway maps with the location marked, USGS topographical maps with the location marked, or applicable county tax maps with the area highlighted, etc. The proposed area of access must be highlighted.

You must also identify the rail line name and the approximate milepost location. You can find the information by using the link below to access the information in Google Earth KML format.

Download MDDE KML file

Insurance

Insurance requirements, if applicable, must be met. The types of insurance and applicable limits typically required are:

- Commercial General Liability Insurance

- Railroad Protective Liability Insurance (during construction, demolition or maintenance)

The required insurance coverage for each of the above typically ranges from $3,000,000-5,000,000 per occurrence. Coverage requirements will be determined upon receipt of a License Agreement Application Form and will be based on the type of access required and/or the type of work being performed. The insurance coverage will be verified prior to the execution of any license agreement.

Basic Terms

Basic terms of a road crossing agreement are as follows.

- Applicant will reimburse railroad for engineering review fees and will be obligated to pay an annual lease fee.

- All construction work for the crossing, and future maintenance, from end of tie to end of tie will be performed by railroad work forces at the applicant's expense.

- Grading, drainage and continued maintenance work on roadway approaches will be the sole responsibility of the applicant.

- Any installation and (non-routine, monthly) maintenance of current or future warning devices required for the crossing (active or passive) will be at the applicant's sole expense.

- Any utility relocation costs due to construction of the new crossing will be the responsibility of the applicant.

Review and Approvals

Once we have reviewed the application, we will be in touch.

Timeline

Please plan and allow approximately six months to process your service request.

For questions, please contact us.