Federal rules could muffle train whistles

Proposed federal regulations could muffle loud train whistles and spell a good night's sleep for Scott City Councilman Jeff Curnell and others who are routinely bothered by the deafening noise.

The Bush administration last month proposed regulations that would set a maximum volume that train horns could sound and keep many trains from blowing their whistles until they are closer to railroad crossings.

The new rules -- set to take effect next December -- would set the maximum sound of a horn at 110 decibels, about as loud as a car horn. Currently there is no limit.

Trains also would be barred from blasting their whistles until they are no more than 20 seconds from a crossing.

Curnell likes the proposed federal rules. He estimated train whistles currently are in the 140- to 170-decibel range.

"It's like you are standing right on the tracks when you are in my bedroom at night," said Curnell, whose house sits about 500 yards from the Union Pacific railroad tracks.

But Scott City, a railroad town where blaring train whistles are routine, may not stop there. The council is considering banning trains from tooting their horns in Scott City from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. daily.

Train whistles have been restricted by about 2,000 communities in 24 states, mainly in Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana and Virginia.

"We had it nearly ready for approval," city administrator Ron Eskew said of the Scott City proposal. But the city put the issue on hold to determine if any new federal regulations would affect the city's restrictions.

Eskew said the city proposal could come up for council action within the next 60 to 90 days.

Under the proposed federal regulations, communities could silence the whistles entirely if doing so poses minimal risk and cities add flashing lights and gates at crossings.

There are already flashing lights and gates at all three of Scott City's railroad crossings, Eskew said.

From one end to the other

Some Scott City residents say the train horns are a major nuisance at night.

Curnell said the sounds of train horns regularly wake him up at night. "I have counted 35- to 45-second continuous blasts," he said Monday.

Eskew said, "We have noticed trains blowing solid whistles from one end of town to another at late hours."

Karen Belcher of Scott City objects to lingering blasts of the train horns. Some train engineers, she said, "just lay on the horn" making conversation impossible at businesses near the tracks.

There are nearly 154,000 public railroad crossings nationwide. The Federal Railroad Administration estimates that 9.3 million Americans live close enough to the tracks to be bothered by train horns.

The blare, designed to alert motorists and pedestrians to an oncoming train, affects everything from property values to peace of mind, officials have said.

The Federal Railroad Administration said a New Jersey man complained that he couldn't recover from a yearlong disease caused by sleep deprivation because train horns kept waking him up at night.

Curnell said he doesn't mind the horns as much during the day. But train engineers shouldn't be blasting the horns late at night when there's little vehicular traffic.

"I just wish they would use some common sense," he said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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