Utility Occupancies
An applicant may obtain a Utility Occupancy License (Wire or Pipeline) through a formal application process. To initiate the process, the applicant must complete the application form provided in the link below.
The completed application should be emailed to the Director of Real Estate at jdavis@wlerail.com.
Payment for the $1,000 Application Review and $2,250 Engineering Review fees, which are non-refundable, should be submitted via check or money order made payable to the applicable railroad name (if you need to confirm the railroad name, please email the Director of Real Estate at jdavis@wlerail.com). Payment should be mailed to the following address:
Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway Company
Attn: Real Estate Dept.
100 East First Street
Brewster, OH 44613
Standard Processing of applications takes approximately 6-8 weeks. Expedited Processing is available and will reduce the processing time to approximately 3-4 weeks, at an additional cost of $3,000 (due with the application). If expedited processing is required, then list EXPEDITED in the subject line.
Upon receipt of the application and fees, the real estate and operations teams will review the package for approval. If the application is approved, a License Agreement will be drafted and forwarded to the applicant for signature. If there is an existing agreement, include a copy when submitting the application.
The partially executed License Agreement must be returned to the Real Estate Department accompanied by a check or money order for the first-year rental payment and a $1,000 Document Preparation Fee. In addition, proof of insurance (outlined in the agreement) must be submitted before execution of the License Agreement on behalf of the railroad.
If access on or near railroad property is required to obtain the necessary information for the application, a Right-of-Entry (ROE) agreement must be obtained. A ROE is a separate application and can be found at the following link: Accessing Property
Additionally, all parties working on-site, as part of this utility installation or otherwise, including all contractors, subcontractors, or other parties, must submit a separate ROE application with insurance documentation that meets the requirements. Upon approval of any ROE application, an ROE agreement will be sent for execution.