PUC §7526: Every railroad corporation has all of the following powers: (a) To make such examination and surveys as are necessary to the selection of the most advantageous route for the railroad.

Every railroad corporation has all of the following powers: (a) To make such examination and surveys as are necessary to the selection of the most advantageous route for the railroad. The officers, agents, and employees of the corporation may enter upon the lands or waters of any person, for this purpose, subject to liability for all damages which they do thereto. (b) To receive, hold, take, and convey, by deed or otherwise, as a natural person, such voluntary grants and donations of real estate and other property as are made to it to aid and encourage the construction, maintenance, and accommodation of the railroad. (c) To purchase, or by voluntary grants or donations to receive, enter, take possession of, hold, and use all such real estate and other property as is necessary for the construction and maintenance of such railroad, and for all stations, depots, and other purposes necessary to successfully work and conduct the business of the road. (d) To lay out its road, not exceeding 10 rods wide, and to construct and maintain it, with one or more tracks, and with such appendages and adjuncts as are necessary for the convenient use of the road. (e) To construct its roads across, along, or upon any stream of water, watercourse, roadstead, bay, navigable stream, street, avenue, or highway, or across any railway, canal, ditch, or flume which the route of its road intersects, crosses, or runs along, in such manner as to afford security for life and property. The corporation shall restore the stream or watercourse, road, street, avenue, highway, railroad, canal, ditch, or flume thus intersected to its former state of usefulness as near as may be, or so that the railroad does not unnecessarily impair its usefulness or injure its franchise. (f) To cross, intersect, join, or unite its railroad with any other railroad, either before or after construction, at any point upon its route, and upon the grounds of the other railroad corporation, with the necessary turnouts, sidings, and switches, and other conveniences in furtherance of the objects of its connections. Every corporation whose railroad is intersected by any new railroad shall unite with the owners of the new railroad in forming the intersections and connections, and grant facilities therefor. If the two corporations cannot agree upon the amount of compensation to be made therefor, or the points or the manner of the crossings, intersections, and connections, such matters shall be ascertained and determined as is provided in Part 1 (commencing with Section 201) of Division 1. (g) To acquire lands, timber, stone, gravel, or other materials to be used in the construction and maintenance of its road, and all necessary appendages and adjuncts. (h) To change the line of its road, in whole or in part, whenever a majority of the directors so determine, as provided in Section 7531, but the change shall not vary the general route of the road, as contemplated in its articles of incorporation.