(The following story by John Roszkowski appeared on the Mundelein Review website on October 30.)
MUNDELEIN, Ill. — Mundelein’s automated train horn system will remain in place for at least another year, and trains will not blow their whistles through the community for the immediate future.
The Illinois Commerce Commission issued an order that the automated horns could remain at nine Mundelein-area crossings until at least Oct. 22, 2004, extending the original trial period for studying the effectiveness of the automated horn system.
Meanwhile, the Canadian National railroad sent a letter last week to Mundelein, indicating the company would hold off on blowing train horns in “an effort to try and find some resolution on the permanent use of automated horns.”
“The railroad has indicated that they agree not to sound their train horns at this time. We will continue to have no train whistle blowing for the time being,” said Mundelein Assistant Village Administrator Mike Flynn.
The issue appeared to be coming to a head as the original automated horn study period was set to expire on Oct. 25, and the village and railroad had not yet reached a new licensing agreement for the maintenance of the automated horn system. Railroad officials previously had indicated that absent such an agreement, they would order their engineers to begin sounding their train whistles again.
However, railroad officials have deferred their decision to blow the train whistles, while negotiations between the village and railroad continue.
“It’s a very good sign that the Canadian National has postponed its decision to sound the train horns. It’s a very good sign that the ICC has issued an order allowing the automated horn to remain in place,” said Flynn.
Automated horns are located at nine railroad crossings, six in Mundelein, two in Libertyville and one in Vernon Hills. Mundelein has spearheaded a study of the automated horn technology and is trying to convince the Federal Railroad Administration and Federal Highway Administration to add automated horns to the approved list of alternatives to train whistles. A study done by Northwestern University found the automated horns, which blow directly at the crossing, to be at least as effective in terms of crossing safety as whistle blowing and significantly less noisy to residents who live near the tracks.
Jack Burke, a spokesman for the Canadian National, said the railroad informed the village it would refrain from regular blowing of train horns, at least for the time being. “We told the village we wouldn’t return to blowing our horns on Oct. 25, when the test period ended,” he said.
However, he said the railroad will blow their horns in case of emergency situations, such as if somebody is on the track or if the automated horns aren’t working properly.
Meanwhile, Burke said the railroad continues to negotiate with Mundelein to address issues of concern to the railroad, particularly as it relates rail crossing safety. Burke said one of the railroad’s primary concerns is a series of road-railroad crossings in close proximity to one another in town. The railroad would like to see the rail crossing at Park Street closed to vehicular traffic to improve safety at that location. It also has requested the village submit an application for federal funds for a grade separation at the Allanson Road rail crossing, such as an overpass or underpass, to separate road traffic from train traffic.
The railroad, however, apparently has backed off on its demand that the village not issue citations to trains which block rail crossings, as a condition of a new agreement.
“It’s not a current pertinent issue in talks with the village but it will be addressed in a separate forum and could ultimately be addressed in talks with the village,” said Burke, of the crossing citation issue.
In 2001, the Illinois Commerce Commission issued an interim order allowing the automated horns to be installed at the nine public highway/railroad crossings. Last week, the ICC issued an order granting an extension of the automated horns until Oct. 22, 2004, under terms of the previous stipulated agreement.
The ICC’s decision on whether to make the automated horns permanent could hinge on whether the Federal Railroad Administration and Federal Highway Administration recognize the automated horns as an approved alternative to whistle blowing, when new federal rules governing rail safety are released. Currently, automated horns are not recognized by the federal government as an approved alternative to train horn blowing but Mundelein hopes they will be.