49 U.S.C. § 11144
Section 11144 · Records: form; inspection; preservation
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 8 court decisions — leading case Seaboard System Railroad v. Interstate Commerce Commission (1987)
Most recently applied in Seaboard System Railroad v. Interstate Commerce Commission (September 1987)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
(a) The Board may prescribe the form of records required to be prepared or compiled under this subchapter—
(1) by rail carriers and lessors, including records related to movement of traffic and receipts and expenditures of money; and
(2) by persons furnishing cars to or for a rail carrier providing transportation subject to the jurisdiction of the Board under this part to the extent related to those cars or that service.
(b) The Board, or an employee designated by the Board, may on demand and display of proper credentials—
(1) inspect and examine the lands, buildings, and equipment of a rail carrier or lessor; and
(2) inspect and copy any record of—
(A) a rail carrier, lessor, or association;
(B) a person controlling, controlled by, or under common control with a rail carrier if the Board considers inspection relevant to that person's relation to, or transaction with, that rail carrier; and
(C) a person furnishing cars to or for a rail carrier if the Board prescribed the form of that record.
(c) The Board may prescribe the time period during which operating, accounting, and financial records must be preserved by rail carriers, lessors, and persons furnishing cars.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Prior Provisions
A prior section 11144, Pub. L. 95–473, Oct. 17, 1978, 92 Stat. 1426; Pub. L. 96–296, §24(c), July 1, 1980, 94 Stat. 816, related to form, inspection, and preservation of records, prior to the general amendment of this subtitle by Pub. L. 104–88, §102(a). See sections 11144, 14122, and 15722 of this title.