How to Reduce Train Whistle Noise
- 1). Visit the Federal Railroad Administrations Quiet Zone Calculator Web page (located in the Resources section) to determine your area's Quiet Zone Risk Index. If the Quiet Zone Risk Index is below the Nationwide Significant Risk Threshold, a quiet zone can be established in your area. If it is not, however, a Supplemental Safety Measure must be installed before a quiet zone can be established. Upon completing the Quiet Zone Calculator, you will know whether your area meets the qualifications or not.
- 2). Determine what type of Supplemental Safety Measure will work best in your area. Supplemental Safety Measures are the measures that must be put in place for a Quiet Zone to be established in an area with a Quiet Zone Risk Index higher than the Nationwide Significant Risk Threshold. The Supplemental Safety Measures are: creating paired, one-way streets with full closure gates at the crossing, building median barriers in combination with two quadrant gates at the crossing, establishing four quadrant gates, creating a permanent crossing closure or creating a temporary crossing closure to be used during night hours. Depending on your area, one, several or all of these solutions may be a possibility. The average costs for each solution can be found on the "Train Whistle Noise Reduction Systems" page in the "Resources" section.
- 3). Meet with a public authority in your area and pitch your Supplemental Safety Measure proposal. This public authority could include the city's Department of Transportation, the City Planning Committee or City Council. City Council meetings are often open to the public and may provide the best opportunity for you to pitch your idea. Only with the public authority's approval can you continue.
- 4). Send notifications to the following parties: railroads that operate within the quiet zone, the law enforcement authority with jurisdiction within the quiet zone, landowners with control of the crossings within the quiet zone, the State agency responsible for highway and road safety, the State agency responsible for grade crossing safety and the FRA Associate Administrator. Each of these parties must be notified 21 days before enforcement of the quiet zone and each notification must be sent via certified mail.
- 5). Maintain the quiet zone once it has been established. The FRA may inspect the quiet zone at any time to ensure that it meets the necessary regulations and revoke the area's quiet zone status should it fail to do so.