ST. LOUIS, Mo. — Neighbors who have spent the fall listening to train horns at all hours should get relief soon. The city Street Department said Friday that trains will quit sounding horns at St. Louis railroad crossings in seven to 10 days.
The Federal Railroad Administration has found that the city now meets the safety rules needed to bring back its quiet zones. The switch is not instant, because railroads need several days to change their operating protocols for crews.
Mayor Cara Spencer described the round-the-clock horns as a real disruption for the city and credited city crews for working through the problem.
The noise began in September. Federal regulators pulled the quiet zone status St. Louis had held since 2005 after finding the warning signs at crossings out of compliance. The city wrapped up the fixes late last month, putting up bigger crossing signs and repainting stop bars.
Federal inspectors had already checked 35 crossings by late October and said quiet zones would come back one rail corridor at a time. The federal list first named 187 crossings needing work, but some were later dropped because they sit in St. Louis County rather than the city. The county transportation department has said none of its own crossings needed upgrades. To finish the federal paperwork, the city also gathered counts of vehicles using each crossing.
Alderman Matt Devoti of the 5th Ward has said two of the eight rail corridors cross his ward, where tracks run close to homes. In September he filed Board Bill 78, aimed at tightening reporting rules inside the Street Department.
Section: More St. Louis MO crime news
Filed under: St. Louis MO Traffic News
