Massachusetts General Laws Part I. Administration of the Government (Ch. 1-182) Ch. 159, § 65

The department of highways shall proceed to make an investigation of crossings where a public or private way and a railroad cross each other at grade, in sections sixty-five to eighty-two, inclusive,  1 referred to as grade crossings. Said department shall annually on or before October first file with the department of telecommunications and energy lists of grade crossings the abolition of which it suggests for early consideration, to which lists additional grade crossings may from time to time be added by said department of highways. Such lists shall state the names of the grade crossings, the names of the corporations operating the railroads crossed and the counties, cities and towns in which such crossings are located. The department of highways shall receive all petitions for the abolition of grade crossings from the aldermen of the city, the selectmen of the town, or the county commissioners of the county, where such a crossing exists, or the board of directors of the railroad corporation operating the railroad crossed, and after a hearing, due notice of which shall have been given to said railroad corporation, city or town and county, may in its discretion place said crossing on one of said lists. The department of telecommunications and energy, after due notice to the department of highways, the counties and municipalities in which such crossings are located and the railroad corporations operating the railroads crossed, shall proceed to hold public hearings upon such lists and such additional grade crossings as the department of highways shall have notified it to include. Upon the completion of such hearings the department of telecommunications and energy by order shall designate a program of grade crossings the abolition of which shall be considered; provided, that such program order may be amended or revised from time to time by the department of telecommunications and energy on request of the department of highways. In establishing such program the department of telecommunications and energy shall take into consideration the relative security and convenience of the public likely to result from the abolition of each particular grade crossing included therein as compared with the abolition of other grade crossings. Such program order shall state with respect to each grade crossing the name of the crossing, the name of the railroad corporation operating the railroad crossed, and the names of the counties, cities and towns in which the crossing is located. A copy of such program order and amendments and revisions thereof shall be filed in the office of the department of telecommunications and energy and of the department of highways.