If the corporations cannot agree upon the stated periods at which the cars of one shall be drawn over the railroad of the other, and upon the compensation to be paid therefor, or upon the terms and conditions upon which accommodations shall be furnished for the passengers and merchandise of the other, or if two corporations operating railroads of different gauges cannot agree as to the requisite terminal accommodations, or as to the manner in which freight and passengers shall be transferred from one railroad to the other and forwarded, the department, upon the petition of either party and after notice to the other, shall hear the parties, and determine, having reference to the convenience and interest of the corporations and of the public to be accommodated thereby, the stated periods for drawing cars, the compensation therefor, the terms and conditions for passengers and merchandise, or the requisite terminal accommodations and manner of transferring passengers and freight as aforesaid; and, upon the application of either party, shall determine all questions between the parties relative to the transportation of freight and passengers and other business upon and connected with said railroads in which they are jointly interested and the manner in which the business shall be done, and shall apportion to the corporations their respective shares of the expenses, receipts and income of the same; and the award of the department shall be binding upon the respective corporations for one year and thereafter until the department revises the same; and the compensation of the department for services and expenses under this section shall be paid by the respective corporations in such proportions as the department shall determine and set forth in its award. Upon the written request of a party affected thereby, filed with the department within thirty days after the rendering thereof, the award shall be filed in the supreme judicial court which shall have jurisdiction to revise it as if it had been made by a commission appointed by said court.
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 160, § 60