VTrans presents report on revenue from state railroad rights-of-way; broadband fees rising
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Summary
A Vermont Agency of Transportation rail official told the House Transportation Committee that revenue from broadband leases on state-owned railroad right-of-way has risen, cited a corrected broadband total of $199,888, and explained AOT's long-standing policy to avoid fees that could raise rural broadband costs while noting lawmakers are seeking more data to consider changes.
The Vermont Agency of Transportation briefed the House Transportation Committee on Jan. 7 on a legislatively requested report detailing revenue generated from state-owned railroad right-of-way property.
Dan, the agency’s rail director identified in the hearing record, said the report divides revenues into telephone, broadband and a catchall “everything else” category that includes power companies, driveway crossings and land leases. He told the committee the broadband line item in the originally circulated report contained a math error; the corrected broadband total is $199,888, not the $148,311 listed in the earlier version.
The report is intended to give legislators data to evaluate oversight and fee policy for leases on state rail property. "We haven't really had any specific conversations at AOT whether we should be updating rates or not," Dan said, noting that communications and utility rate entries on the agency's rate sheet have not been changed since 2004. By contrast, appraisal-driven land-lease rates were updated in 2024.
Committee members pressed on how fees are charged and whether the state should add or increase charges before leases are signed. Dan described AOT's published rate sheet (rail > property management on VTrans' website) that lists per-item fees — for example, a per-pole or per-wire price — and a documentation fee he said is roughly $300 for initial agreements or amendments. He also said many land leases include a CPI adjustment every five years for longer-term agreements.
Members raised a policy tension that has informed past administrations: Vermont has encouraged affordable rural broadband and cell coverage and historically avoided levy policies that might raise deployment costs. Dan said the legislature and AOT have long aimed to facilitate access "as least expensively" as possible for rural areas but acknowledged the current legislative interest in more detailed oversight.
Dan said most communications requests to use AOT railroad property are one-off crossings rather than long, continuous longitudinal runs, though there have been multi-mile proposals. He explained a technical difference that matters for operations and fee structures: aerial crossings generally impose fewer restrictions than buried, longitudinal installations, which must meet railroad engineering standards (including ARIMA protections and, in some cases, metal casings to protect infrastructure and future railroad operations).
The hearing closed with Dan offering to circulate a corrected report and follow up on questions about rate history and how often AOT reviews fees. No formal policy action or vote was taken at the hearing; committee members indicated the data will inform future oversight and possible legislative options.
