My little town (pop. 7,900) has four crossings in 1 mile. We are on the BNSF double main coal line from Wyoming. Fifteen years ago, when we first started talking about the quiet zone, there were 120 trains per day, 60 full heading east, 60 empty heading west. We’re wide open plains out here and the trains come through pretty fast. As soon at the engineer finished the horn for one crossing he was starting again for the next crossing.
Not exaggerating (much) it was one solid train horn all day and night, with the entire town less than a mile from the tracks.
We paid for the four quiet zones by a ½ cent sales tax.
We know the argument. The trains were here first. But that doesn’t make it any easier. What has happened is that the number of coal trains has dropped in half.
The proper response would be to close three of the four - you get to choose. Podunk with 7900 population doesn’t need four roads crossing the railroad at grade.
I think that you should carefully read through this sometimes-technical 57-page paper and determine just what the best implementation of this approach might be in Eugene. This is something that the local agencies might be able to implement at reasonable cost, perhaps as a test.
Thanks for all this extremely detailed information on this topic. I have read much of it and will be forwarding it to selected city council members with the hopes they might read and consider it.
The city itself got the money from the tax, with it going to pay for the quiet zones. Our town’s council is pretty transparent with financing, and continually updated citizens of the dollar figures.
No audio horns. The crossings have gates at all entrances, median barriers to stop cars from changing lanes, and also small gates at the sidewalks. The sidewalk gates at least warn pedestrians of approaching trains, but pedestrians can easily just walk around the gates.
The quiet zone has been finished since 2020.
There have been two fatalities, but unrelated to the quiet zone. A person committing suicide got up to high speed and tried to ram his car into the side of a moving train. Unfortunately, he not only killed himself, but another person in another car waiting at the crossing.
Not really any change.
All the crossings had gates before, and the gates were upgraded during the construction.
This was not an easy project. BNSF wasn’t really happy doing this, and this process dragged on more than ten years. At one point, the city had to dig through huge amounts of paperwork because BNSF claimed they had not ever granted an easement for one of the roads. This city found the easement paperwork from the late 1800s. It seemed like it took eight years for the planning and railroad issues to be cleared, and then two years for actually construction.
Medians don’t necessarily stop people from changing lanes. They just do it before the median begins. Im sure eventually we’ll have two vehicles approaching such a crossing and both changing lanes and having a head on collision.
Jeff
When I was approaching a crossing at 50mph two drivers decided to go around the gates in opposite directions. They met nose to nose in the middle of the track. They both barely avoided getting reduced to scrap metal by driving their luxury vehicles through the gates.
Mark Vinski
Alaska Railroad installed a two “quiet zone” road crossings in South Anchorage, in what is a predominantly residential neighborhood. From my experience living near one, they have worked well too. ARRC installed concrete Jersey Barriers down the center of the road that blocks traffic from going around the Gates, installed longer length Gate Arms that reach the centered Jersey Barriers and lengthened the distance of the signal equipment circuitry to allow the Gates to lower with more time before the arrival of the oncoming train. Train speed at the one crossing I am most familier with is 40 MPH and there are located near curves with cut down on sight distance. Locomotive Engineers will use the Locomotive Warning Horns if the see people near the right-of-way (the right-of-way bisects a town park).
The information regarding the “Quiet Zone” Crossings may still be on the Alaska Railroad website under the Engineering projects folder.
From my understanding, there have been no fatalities, since the installation. Drivers are made aware of the rail crossing and lack of horns with enhanced signage.
This doesn’t mean stupid people and/or stupid drivers aren’t around, always remember that Darwin was accurate.
