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FRA 08-03
Contact: Warren Flatau
Wednesday, December 17, 2003
Tel.: (202) 493-6024
FRA Issues Rule Providing Local Communities the Opportunity to Silence Train Horns at Railroad Crossings
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) today
announced publication of a rule to allow local communities to quiet train horns
at some 150,000 railroad crossings nationwide if important safety requirements
are met.
The agency’s “Interim Final Rule” describes specific standards local
decision-makers can use to silence locomotive horns, while improving safety at
public highway-rail grade crossings, and allowing many communities with existing
whistle bans to maintain those prohibitions.
“Train horns are important safety devices, but they also can be a nuisance
for residents,” said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta. “This
rule means less noise for millions of Americans living near railroad crossings.”
“Research has shown that locomotive horns provide an important warning to
motorists in advance of highway-rail grade crossings,” said Administrator Allan
Rutter. “However, we have sought to respond to the many communities which have
continued to press for relief from unwanted train horn noise. This rule will
provide new flexibility in creating quiet zones, while maintaining safety at
highway-rail grade crossings.”
Under the rule, local governments will have the opportunity to establish
quiet zones in certain areas where there is a low risk of collision, or to make
specific upgrades meant to lessen the risk where the hazards are greater. The
upgrade options include the installation of crossing gates that block both lanes
of traffic in both directions or some type of approved median divider to prevent
drivers from crossing lanes to go around a lowered gate, the temporary closure
of a crossing, or a one-way street with gates and lights. The rule also allows
use of an automated horn system to be installed at the crossing as a substitute
for the train horn.
“Our challenge has been to ensure the highest level of public safety
possible, while recognizing communities’ legitimate interest in seeking relief
from unwanted noise,” Administrator Rutter said.
For communities with whistle bans, the rule outlines specific steps local
jurisdictions can take to maintain those restrictions, provided they notify FRA
of their plan to create a “pre-rule quiet zone” and take the steps required to
qualify them as such.
“By employing a risk-based approach, communities with
'grand-fathered'
whistle bans can maintain the quality of life they’ve become accustomed to while
ensuring public safety at highway rail-grade crossings,” Rutter said.
By law, the final rule will take effect December 18, 2004, one year
following the date of its publication tomorrow, but communities with existing
whistle bans will have at least five years to implement the requirements. The
rule will pre-empt existing State and local laws governing the sounding of
locomotive horns. FRA will not require that locomotive horns be sounded at
private highway-rail crossings instead leaving those decisions to the States.
The Federal Railroad Safety Authorization Act of 1994 required the
Secretary of Transportation to issue regulations that require locomotive horns
be sounded on approach to and while traveling across public highway-rail
crossings except under specified conditions. Copies of the Interim Final Rule,
Final Environmental Impact Analysis and related documents may be found online at
www.fra.dot.gov and at
http://dms.dot.gov. Comments on the Interim
Final Rule may be submitted online via the U.S. Department of Transportation’s
online Docket Management System at
http://dms.dot.gov.
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