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U.S.Department of Transportation
Office of Public Affairs
Washington, D.C.
www.dot.gov/affairs/briefing.htm
News |
Effective Date of Proposed Rule Allowing for
Train Horn “Quiet Zones” Moves to April 1
Contact: Steve Kulm or Warren Flatau
Telephone: (202) 493-6024
Monday, November 22, 2004 () The effective date of the proposed rule from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) that allows communities to establish train horn ‘quiet zones’ will be moved to April 1 from the previously published date of December 18, according to an agency announcement in today’s Federal Register.
“We are firmly committed to providing communities nationwide with a fair, flexible, and workable rule that will address concerns over noise created by train horns,” said FRA Acting Administrator Betty Monro. “We are especially sensitive to the concerns of communities with pre-existing whistle bans who want to maintain the quality of life to which they have become accustomed.”
The Interim Final Rule (IFR) on Use of Locomotive Horns at Highway-Rail Grade Crossings was issued late last year. It requires trains to sound their horns on approach to, and while traveling across, public highway-rail crossings. However, the train horn can be silenced within a ‘quiet zone’ provided safety measures are in place at the affected crossings.
Because the IFR generated significant interest from communities across the country, the FRA extended the public comment period by two months. Approximately 1,400 comments were submitted for review.
FRA had planned to issue the Final Rule last month, but the analysis and consideration required of each comment made meeting that schedule difficult. The Final Rule will now be issued in January and becomes effective on April 1.
The comments received can be grouped into several broad categories, including, but not limited to: states and railroads seeking a greater role in the quiet zone development process, communities seeking recognition of existing partial whistle bans, and communities seeking recognition of whistle bans created after October 1996.
More information about the Interim Final Rule is available at
www.fra.dot.gov.
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Federal Register Notice
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