46 USC § 55117 - Great Lakes rail route

---
identifier: "/us/usc/t46/s55117"
source: "usc"
legal_status: "official_legal_evidence"
title: "46 USC § 55117 - Great Lakes rail route"
title_number: 46
title_name: "SHIPPING"
section_number: "55117"
section_name: "Great Lakes rail route"
chapter_number: 551
chapter_name: "COASTWISE TRADE"
part_number: "D"
part_name: "Promotional Programs"
positive_law: true
currency: "119-84"
last_updated: "2026-03-26"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
source_credit: "(Pub. L. 109–304, § 8(c), Oct. 6, 2006, 120 Stat. 1640.)"
---


# § 55117. Great Lakes rail route

Section 55102 of this title does not apply to the transportation of merchandise loaded on a railroad car or to a motor vehicle with or without a trailer, and with its passengers or contents when accompanied by the operator, when the railroad car or motor vehicle is transported in a railroad car ferry operated between fixed terminals on the Great Lakes as part of a rail route, if—

**(1)** the car ferry is owned by a common carrier by water and operated as part of a rail route with the approval of the Surface Transportation Board;

**(2)** the stock of the common carrier by water, or its predecessor, was owned or controlled by a common carrier by rail prior to June 5, 1920;

**(3)** the stock of the common carrier owning the car ferry is, with the approval of the Board, now owned or controlled by a common carrier by rail; and

**(4)** the car ferry is built in and documented under the laws of the United States.

---

**Source Credit**: (Pub. L. 109–304, § 8(c), Oct. 6, 2006, 120 Stat. 1640.)

| RevisedSection | Source (U.S. Code) | Source (Statutes at Large) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 55117 | 46 App.:883 (5th proviso). | June 5, 1920, ch. 250, § 27, as added Apr. 11, 1935, ch. 58, 49 Stat. 154. |