Title 9
Courts and Civil Procedure — Procedure Generally

Chapter 31
Governmental Tort Liability

R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-31-2.1

§ 9-31-2.1. Limitation of damages — State — Commuter rail service.

(a) Agreements between the state and a railroad for the provision of commuter rail service shall provide that the state shall secure and maintain a liability insurance policy covering the liability of the state and the railroad for property damage, personal injury, bodily injury, and death arising out of the commuter rail service. The policy shall name the state as named insured, and the railroad as an additional insured, shall have policy limits of not less than seventy-five million dollars ($75,000,000) per occurrence annually and seventy-five million dollars ($75,000,000) in the aggregate annually, and shall be subject to self-insured retention in an amount up to seven million five hundred thousand dollars ($7,500,000). In no event shall the state or the railroad be liable in excess of the coverage limits of the insurance policy for any and all claims for damage, whether compensatory or punitive, for property damage, personal injury, bodily injury, and death arising out of the commuter rail service.

(b) For the purposes of this section, the term “railroad” shall include any person, railroad corporation, or other legal entity in the business of providing rail transportation that contracts with the state for the provision of commuter rail services and the term “commuter rail service” shall include all services performed by a railroad pursuant to a contract with the state in connection with the transportation of rail passengers including, but not limited to, the operation of trains, trackage, and equipment, or the construction, reconstruction, or maintenance of railroad equipment, tracks, and any appurtenant facilities or the provision of trackage rights over lines owned by any such railroad.

History of Section.
P.L. 2006, ch. 623, § 1; P.L. 2006, ch. 634, § 1; P.L. 2012, ch. 415, § 18; P.L. 2018, ch. 231, § 2; P.L. 2018, ch. 258, § 2.