(The following article by Neil Strassman was published by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram on April 30.)
FORT WORTH — Siding with Tarrant County residents short on sleep, county commissioners Tuesday threw their support behind a state law that would limit the blowing of train whistles.
“They just start blowing the whistle at one end of Arlington and just keep going,” said Commissioner Marti VanRavenswaay, who represents the Arlington area.
The bill, written by state Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, would raise the fine for inappropriately sounding train whistles to $500. The current fine is $100.
The law would prohibit sounding a train whistle or horn — except in an emergency — where the railroad crosses a public road or street unless the crossing has an approved alternative or supplemental safety measure.
Among safety measures the Federal Railroad Administration is considering are a stationary automated warning device, a median island and additional gates.
Trains can travel about 60 mph through some urban areas, and whistles and horns must be sounded about one-quarter mile from a crossing to warn pedestrians and vehicles.
The bill would establish regulatory language in Texas that conforms to “quiet zones” guidelines that the federal railroad agency is developing, said Mark Davis, a spokesman for Union Pacific Railroad.
“We support the bill,” Davis said. Many issues remain to be worked out, including who would pay for the safety upgrades, he said.
Flashers and gates are well established warning measures, and various other devices are being tested, said Pat Hiatte, spokesman for Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway.
One device, the wayside horn, is mounted on a street crossing gate with the sound directed at cross streets. However, the agency is still testing the horn.
“We blow the whistle as a safety measure to let people know a train is approaching a crossing, and we are required by federal law to sound it,” Hiatte said. “Stop, look and listen is still good advice, and one of the things you listen for is the whistle.”