Ill. Residents Want Train Whistle Ban To Remain

July 18 -- To prevent accidents at railroad crossings, the Federal Railroad Administration has proposed requiring trains sound their whistles at stations lacking state-of-the art safety devices.

While FRA officials believe the proposal would prevent collisions with vehicles and pedestrians crossing the railways, several witnesses today voiced their disapproval of the measure before a House panel and argued the bill would compromise their quality of life.

Several Illinois residents, including House Speaker Dennis Hastert, argued today that a bill requiring trains to blow their whistles would increase the noise level of their towns and prevent them sleeping at night. “The impact to my constituents and the people of Illinoiscannot be underestimated,” said Hastert, who represents a suburbanChicago district crisscrossed by railroad tracks.

Rail Safety Crosses Noise PollutionIllinois has more railroad crossings than any other state, and 64 percent of its population lives within a mile of a crossing. Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana and Virginia also havelarge numbers of quiet zone crossings. Fed up with sleepless nights and irritated by loud train whistles, nearly 900 communities persuaded state lawmakers to set up quiet zones where the whistles are banned.

The proposed FRA law would lift the ban, but according to FRA officials, the ban would be allowed to stay in place if stations take additional safety steps such as installing double gates at crossings. Those stations would have two years to upgrade their railroad safety devices. For stations that could not afford double gates, the measure would require neighboring communities to establish educational programs to better inform drivers about the dangers of railroad crossings.

But Rita Mullins, the Mayor of Palatine, Ill., claimed that the constant noise of the train whistles would be a nuisance to thousands of residents in her Chicago suburb.

“The horn would remain sounding almost constantly for 20 miles to its destination in Chicago,” Mullins said. “This would happen on an average of 70 times a day, impacting hundreds and thousands of residents within blocks of the crossing, creating noise pollution.”