Quieting train horns can be expensive
By Jennifer Mitchell
Rocky River
Published Nov. 15, 2006

Residents gathered in City Council chambers Nov. 6 to learn about and give comment on safety implementations that would keep trains from blowing their horns as they travel through the city.

As a follow up to that meeting, City Council decided Monday to move further ahead with what is being called a “quiet zone” by filing a notice of intent with the Federal Rail Administration. The notification will cost $2,800 and allows the council to further its discussions on whether or not to pursue such a project.

While last month between two and eight trains ran through the city daily — an average of five — Norfolk Southern Corp. is allowed to send up to 14 trains through daily. No matter how many come through, each must sound its horn several times before it comes to one of the city’s four street-level crossings.

The city has been looking into the possibility of quieting those locomotives for more than a year. If the street-level crossings were effectively barred to motorists and pedestrians as the train passed, the only sound would be the metal rumble and screech of wheels on the steel tracks.

Railroad Controls Limited conducted a study on what it would cost to temporarily close off access and the variety of federally approved. The results of that study are currently available on the city’s Web site, www.rrcity.com.

The costs of silent safety range from $345,000 to $1.4 million, and the barrier options include four-quadrant gates, gates with medians or channelization devices to prevent cars from driving around the barriers with wayside horns directed toward oncoming traffic. Each crossing also must be equipped with the necessary circuitry.

RCL’s Kurt Anderson explained the various options via slideshow at the Nov. 6 meeting, and then took questions from the council and audience.

One concern voiced was for pedestrians and children near the tracks, who without the horns, may not hear a train coming. Although quiet zones are required to keep people and vehicles off the tracks during a crossing, one resident pointed out that rail tracks could be accessed, albeit on private property, in areas throughout the city other than street crossings.

Anderson explained that the railroad retains the right to sound horns within the quiet zone if engineers see stopped vehicles or in any other emergency situation.

Project funding was also among the topics of discussion. The study seems to show that the best solution, at least for residents abutting the track, is also the most expensive. The most expensive solution is also the most aesthetically pleasing, which some audience members said is important in order not to compromise the quality of the community.

“We need feedback from the residents,” Bobst said. “In a perfect world with unlimited resources, you would want the supplemental safety measures that are $1.4 million.”

Bobst contacted U.S. Reps. Dennis Kucinich (D-Cleveland) and Steven LaTourette (R-Concord Township) in search of federal funding. LaTourette is a senior member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee She said she learned that while some money is available for grade crossing safety improvements, Ohio uses its funds for rail safety, rather than implementing quiet zones.

   Money also was a concern for resident Chuck Jirsa, who said he lives 200 feet from the train tracks. Speaking on behalf of what he said was the minority; Jirsa said the city was considering spending a lot of money for residents who knowingly bought near the railroad, which has been there since the 1800s. He also said that the line once had two tracks, and the amount of rail traffic has significantly decreased over the years.

Other issues involve the possibility of a commuter rail running along the same line. Discussions are currently under way regarding the implementation of a commuter rail line from Lorain to Cleveland. Though the idea has received wide support, talks are in their infancy and have led to several questions. Such a line could require four or more round trip trains per day.

Municipal officials along the rail line are wondering whether Norfolk Southern is open to the idea for the use of its rails; if this would count toward the 14 trains per day agreement; if freight and commuter rail could co-exist on the same line, and if commuter rails use whistles instead of the louder horns, would they also be required to follow the quiet zone rules?

Bobst has repeatedly said that before any talks on a commuter rail can proceed in Rocky River, a decision on whether to implement a quiet zone must be made first.

  “As a community, we need to decide on how best to move ahead,” Bobst said.