Carriers Generally

C.R.S. tit. 40, art. 9

in effect

C.R.S. § 40-9-101 Application of sections

40-9-101. Application of sections. Sections 40-9-101 to 40-9-110 apply to any common carrier engaged in the transportation of passengers or property by railroad from one point within the state to any other point within the state. These sections do not apply to the ownership or operation of street transportation public utilities conducted solely as common carriers in the transportation of passengers.

C.R.S. § 40-9-102 Definitions

40-9-102. Definitions. As used in sections 40-9-101 to 40-9-105, unless the context otherwise requires: (1) "Common carriers" also includes express companies, private freight car lines, and pipe lines. (2) "Railroad" includes all bridges used or operated in connection with any railroad; all the roads in use by any corporation operating a railroad, whether owned or operated under a contract, agreement, or lease; all switches, spurs, tracks, and terminal facilities of every kind used or necessary in transportation of persons or property; all freight depots, yards, and grounds used or necessary in the transportation of persons or property; and all freight depots, yards, and grounds, used or necessary in the transportation or delivery of any of said property. (3) "Transportation" includes all cars, and all other vehicles and instrumentalities and facilities of a shipment or carriage, irrespective of ownership or of any contract, express or implied, for the use thereof, and all service in connection with the receipt, delivery, elevation, and transfer in transit, ventilation, refrigeration or icing, demurrage, storing, or handling of property transported. It is the duty of every common carrier, subject to the provisions of sections 40-9-101 to 40-9-105, to provide such transportation upon reasonable request therefor, and to establish through routes and just and reasonable rates applicable thereto, and to provide a sufficient number of cars and a reasonable time schedule for trains.

C.R.S. § 40-9-103 Liability for damages

40-9-103. Liability for damages. (1) In case any common carrier subject to the provisions of sections 40-9-101 to 40-9-105 does, causes, or permits any act, matter, or thing prohibited or declared to be unlawful in said sections or omits any act, matter, or thing required to be done in said sections such common carrier shall be liable to the person injured thereby for the full amount of damages sustained in consequence of any violation of the provisions of sections 40-9-101 to 40-9-105. (2) Every common carrier receiving property for transportation between points within this state shall issue a receipt or a bill of lading therefor and shall be liable to the lawful holder thereof for all loss, damage, or injury to such property caused by it or by any common carrier to which such property may be delivered or over whose lines such property may pass. No contract, receipt, rule, or regulation shall exempt such common carrier from any liability imposed in this section, but the carrier shall not be responsible for any greater sum than the value as fixed in the contract, receipt, or bill of lading where such valuation is stated. Nothing in this section shall deprive any holder of such receipt or bill of lading of any remedy or right of action which he has under existing law. The common carrier issuing such receipt or bill of lading shall be entitled to recover from the common carrier on whose lines the loss, damage, or injury has been sustained the amount of such loss, damage, or injury as it may be required to pay to the owners of such property, as may be evidenced by any receipt, judgment, or transcript thereof. (3) Notwithstanding subsection (2) of this section, a rail carrier may establish rates for the transportation of property under which the liability of the carrier for such property is limited to a value established by a written declaration of the shipper or by a written agreement between the shipper and the rail carrier, and such carrier may provide in such written declaration or agreement for specified amounts to be deducted from any claim against the rail carrier for loss or damage to the property or for delay in the transportation of such property.

C.R.S. § 40-9-104 Violation - penalty

40-9-104. Violation - penalty. Any common carrier subject to the provisions of sections 40-9-101 to 40-9-105, or, whenever such common carrier is a corporation, any director or officer thereof or any receiver, trustee, lessee, agent, or person acting for or employed by such corporation, or any shipper, consignee, or applicant for cars who alone or with any other corporation, company, person, or party willfully does or causes to be done or willfully suffers or permits to be done any act, matter, or thing prohibited by sections 40-9-101 to 40-9-105 or declared to be unlawful or who aids or abets therein, or willfully omits or fails to do any act, matter, or thing required to be done in said sections, or aids or abets any such omission or failure, or is guilty of any infraction of said sections, or aids or abets therein, or fails or refuses or neglects to obey any order of the commission made under the provisions of said sections is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars for each offense.

C.R.S. § 40-9-105 Diligence in transporting - penalty for failure

40-9-105. Diligence in transporting - penalty for failure. (1) It is the duty of every common carrier to transport all shipments between points in this state with the utmost diligence and to move perishable products toward their destination continuously without unnecessary delays or longer stops than regular stops at stations or stops for icing or watering and at a minimum speed of not less than ten miles per hour; but excessive storms, unavoidable accidents, or damage to roadbeds which delay such shipments beyond the power of the common carrier to immediately overcome shall exempt such common carrier from compliance with the minimum speed limit, until such storms subside or such damage can be expeditiously repaired. (2) For failure of any common carrier to receive and transport such shipments with the utmost diligence, such common carrier issuing the receipt or bill of lading therefor shall pay to the owner, consignee, or other interested party whose interests may appear, such actual damages as the owner, consignee, or other interested party may sustain, and the same may be sued for and be recovered in any court of competent jurisdiction in the district in which the plaintiff resides.

C.R.S. § 40-9-106 Transportation of livestock - not less than ten miles per hour

40-9-106. Transportation of livestock - not less than ten miles per hour. Every common carrier in this state must transport livestock from the initial point of shipment in this state to the point of destination in this state at an average rate of speed of not less than ten miles an hour and within such time, from the hour of loading at the initial point to the hour of arrival at the destination, that the point of destination shall be reached in not more than one-tenth as many hours as there were miles required to be traveled in the transportation of such shipment; except only that necessary stops of reasonable duration for feeding purposes, when required by the length of the journey, or necessary and imperative delays caused only by an act of God or inevitable accident shall not be computed in determining such minimum requirements as to speed.

C.R.S. § 40-9-107 Damages for failure to comply

40-9-107. Damages for failure to comply. For failure of any common carrier to transport any such shipment within the time required by section 40-9-106, the common carrier issuing the receipt or bill of lading shall pay to the owner, consignee, or other interested party whose interest may appear such actual damages as the owner, consignee, or other interested party may sustain, together with exemplary damages in a sum of not less than one hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars, to be fixed by the jury or by the court if the cause is tried without a jury, and such actual and exemplary damages may be sued for and recovered in any court of competent jurisdiction in the district in which the plaintiff resides.

C.R.S. § 40-9-108 Accidents - notice - investigation

40-9-108. Accidents - notice - investigation. (1) Every railroad, whenever an accident attended by bodily injury or loss of human life occurs in this state on its line of road or on its ground or in its yards, shall give immediate written notice thereof to the public utilities commission. In the event of any such accident, the commission, if it deems the public interest to require it, shall cause a suitable investigation to be made forthwith and shall give written notice thereof to the person and railroad primarily interested. (2) The expense of such investigation shall be certified by a majority of the commission and shall be audited and paid by the state in the same manner as other expenses are audited and paid. The commission is empowered to make and enforce such rules as, in its judgment, will tend to prevent accidents in the operation of the railroads of this state.

C.R.S. § 40-9-109 Transportation of service animals accompanying individuals with disabilities

40-9-109. Transportation of service animals accompanying individuals with disabilities. When an individual with a disability is accompanied by a service animal or an animal that is being trained as a service animal, as defined in section 24-34-301, C.R.S., for such individual with a disability, neither the individual with a disability nor the service animal shall be denied the facilities of any common carrier, nor shall the individual with a disability be denied the immediate custody of the service animal while riding upon a common carrier. The provisions of this section also apply to a trainer of a service animal, as defined in section 24-34-301, C.R.S., for use by a qualified individual with a disability, unless the service animal presents an imminent danger to the public health or safety. The individual with a disability or the trainer of the service animal shall be liable for any damage done to the premises or facilities of the common carrier by the service animal. An animal being individually trained for the purpose of aiding an individual with a disability shall be visibly and prominently identified as a service animal in training.

C.R.S. § 40-9-110 Railroad freight transport - number of crew members required - penalty - legislative declaration - definitions

40-9-110. Railroad freight transport - number of crew members required - penalty - legislative declaration - definitions. (1) The general assembly hereby finds, determines, and declares that it is in the public interest to require that a common carrier engaged in the transportation of freight by railroad have multiple crew members aboard a railroad train or light engine in order to help ensure the public safety of citizens of this state and the safety of the state's waterways and natural environment. (2) A railroad train or light engine operated in connection with carrying freight must have at least two crew members aboard while the railroad train or light engine is moving. (3) Subsection (2) of this section does not apply to: (a) Helper service; (b) Trains that are used primarily for the purpose of transporting people from one location to another or are used for tourism purposes such as scenic, historic, or excursion rides; (c) A locomotive or group of locomotives that are traveling no more than thirty miles per hour outside of a rail yard and are attached only to a caboose; (d) Hostler service; and (e) The movement of a train for the purpose of loading or unloading freight so long as the train is moving no more than ten miles per hour. (4) A person who willfully violates subsection (2) of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of: (a) Not less than two hundred fifty dollars nor more than one thousand dollars for a first offense; (b) Not less than one thousand dollars nor more than five thousand dollars for a second offense committed within three years; or (c) Not less than five thousand dollars nor more than ten thousand dollars for a third or subsequent offense committed within three years. (5) As used in this section: (a) (I) "Crew member" means an employee of the common carrier involved in the operation of a railroad train or light engine. (II) "Crew member" does not include a hostler service or utility employee or contractor of the carrier. (b) (I) "Helper service" means the use of a locomotive or a group of locomotives to assist another train that is experiencing mechanical failure or lacks the power to traverse difficult terrain. (II) "Helper service" includes the travel to or from a location where the assistance is provided. (c) "Hostler service" means the movement of locomotives that are not attached to rail cars within a rail yard.

Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-40.docxFetched: 10/6/2026