ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Thursday, March 7, 1996                TAG: 9603070025
SECTION: BUSINESS                 PAGE: B-7  EDITION: METRO 
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: Associated Press

VA. DROPS SOME OLD RAIL LAWS

REPEALING OUTDATED REGULATIONS will cut paperwork and save money, while making guidelines standard should make crossings safer, Gov. Allen and legislators said.

Gov. George Allen on Wednesday signed legislation that repeals some of Virginia's railroad regulations, some dating to the 1800s.

Among the regulations cut from the state code is a requirement that cattle held in rail stations be watered properly and regulation of express companies, which went out of business about 20 years ago.

The measure, sponsored by Sen. Warren Barry, R-Fairfax County, and Del. William Robinson, D-Norfolk, easily passed in the General Assembly.

Allen said the law reflects his goal of eliminating unnecessary state regulations. Some code sections also will be repealed because of federal redundancy, he said.

``We've shortened, in effect, the code of Virginia by 100 pages,'' the governor said from a maroon Norfolk Southern Corp. rail car parked on tracks in downtown Richmond.

Other regulations eliminated by the new law include prohibitions on lighting gas lanterns on passenger rail cars with naphtha and requiring railroads to transport troops in ``times of peril.''

Another part of the law is intended to improve rail-crossing safety by standardizing guidelines for warning devices.

The law will cut down on paperwork, said Secretary of Transportation Robert Martinez. Forms filed at the state and federal level can be combined into one form, and State Corporation Commission rate forms will be eliminated. The law includes a provision that could reduce a rail company's liability in crossing accidents if it has properly installed and maintained the grade-crossing equipment.

Allen signed two other rail bills that would eliminate a requirement that railroads clear brush from their right of way to prevent fires caused by steam engines.

LENGTH: Medium:   51 lines
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO:  AP. Gov. George Allen holds a list of repealed rail 
          regulations Wednesday as (from left) state Sen. Charles Waddell, 
          Transportation Secretary Robert Martinez and Del. William Robinson 
          attend the signing of the legislation.
KEYWORDS: GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1996