2018.05.22 WS - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Quiet Zone Evaluation 6 New Brighton, Minnesota The City has been in contact with MNNR, and the railroad was voluntarily working with its clients in regard to the timing of train traffic and associated train horn noise. However, MNNR has also stated that the train traffic is based on client demand with some overnight activity unavoidable because of it. d. Quiet Zone Guidelines The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) published the Final Rule on the Use of Locomotive Horns at Highway-Rail Grade Crossings (Train Horn Rule) in the Federal Register on April 27, 2005. The rule became effective June 24, 2005, and was amended on August 17, 2006. The rule requires railroads to sound horns at all public grade crossings in the United States. The rule also provides an exception in certain circumstances: where there is not a significant risk of loss of life or serious personal injury, where use of the train horn is impractical, or where safety measures fully compensate for the absence of warning provided by the horn. In these areas, the FRA allows for the creation of Quiet Zones where the train operators are formally relieved of the train horn requirement in non-emergency situations. Quiet Zones may be established by the local public authority having jurisdiction over the traffic enforcement by either: 1. local agency designation 2. FRA review and designation Local Agency Designation The local public authority may designate a Quiet Zone when the safety measures at one or more grade crossing fully comply with FRA measures that have been “preapproved” and determined to provide significant risk reduction. These measures are termed Supplemental Safety Measures (SSMs). The FRA has defined a process to calculate the risk of an at-grade crossing and the subsequent impact of implementing one or more SSM. In order to qualify for a Quiet Zone designation, the SSMs must reduce the Quiet Zone Risk Index (QZRI) below the Risk Index with Horns (RIWH) or below the Nationwide Significant Risk Threshold (SRT). The QZRI is a constant value. The NSRT is the average level of risk, on a nationwide basis, to the motoring public at public crossings with flashing lights and gates and at which horns are sounded. The FRA periodically updates the NSRT, which is trending downward as the overall safety of rail crossings continues to improve. The approved SSMs include:  Permanente closure of a grade crossing.  Four-quadrant gates with constant warning time devices and power out indicators. These gates must extend the entire span of the roadway.  Two-quadrant gates with constant warning time devices and power out indicators in addition to median dividers or similar roadway channelization to prevent vehicles from passing around the lowered gates. A length of 100 feet is desirable for the median dividers or channelization devices; however, 60 feet is acceptable in certain situations.