A “quiet zone” expert will study Emporia’s railroad crossings on Thursday and demonstrate a device that might cut down on the din of train horns.
Robert Albritton of Railroad Controls will spend the day examining the 13 crossings where Emporia streets go directly over the tracks. The study could eventually be used to create a “quiet zone” where passing trains would not be allowed to blow their horns.
The issue has come up before and it’s usually left the city in a dilemma. Most people living near the tracks want quieter trains, especially at night. But they also don’t want the intersections closed. And generally, by law, a train approaching a railroad crossing has to blow its horn.
“People just say they don’t want to be disconnected or on a dead end,” City Engineer Keith Beatty said. “I can see both sides.”
In 2005, some exceptions were made to the whistle-blowing rule. If a railroad crossing has two gates blocking traffic, or a raised median for 100 feet on either side, or has a wayside horn, the train can run silent.
A wayside horn is just what it sounds like — a horn on the side of the railroad tracks that blows as the train approaches. While it doesn’t eliminate the noise, it does reduce the affected area because an engineer no longer has to lean on the horn all the way through town.
Albritton will demonstrate a wayside horn at 11:30 a.m. Thursday at the Union Street railroad crossing, on the Fremont Park side.
Costs for safety measures at crossings vary. A 2005 study done in Ft. Worth, Texas, found that closing a street cost $10,000 to $20,000, building a median cost $15,000 to $30,000, a wayside horn system cost $60,000 to $80,000 and double-gating a crossing cost $150,000 to $500,000.
Albritton is the chairman and chief executive officer of Railroad Controls of Benbrook, Texas. Founded in 1994, the company specializes in signaling and communications for railways and has performed similar studies in other cities including Rocky River, Ohio, and Houston, Texas.
The study will be forwarded to the Kansas Department of Transportation and the BNSF railway company.