(The following story by Wendy Hundley appeared on The Dallas Morning News website on December 27.)
MURPHY, Texas — Murphy residents received one Christmas present this week that they’ll enjoy for many years to come: a silent night.
Murphy is the latest in a growing list of North Texas cities to establish “quiet zones” at railroad crossings. Within these zones, trains are prohibited from sounding their horns, day or night, except in emergencies. Other cities, including Dallas, are considering similar restrictions.
“It’s something our citizens wanted,” Murphy Assistant City Manager Jeff Bickerstaff said of the ban that went into effect Wednesday. “We’ve grown quite a bit since 2000, and one of the first things people notice is the train horn.”
In a city of only five square miles, almost everyone can hear the horns from trains that rumble through town several times a day, Mr. Bickerstaff said. “And we do have some trains that go through in the middle of the night,” he said.
Residents can now rest easy as Kansas City Southern trains pass through four crossings – at FM544, North Murphy Road, North Maxwell Creek Road and McCreary Road. Two of the crossings – North Murphy Road and North Maxwell Creek Road – are not divided by median strips, so wayside horns have been erected at those locations.
While the passing trains will remain silent, the stationary horns sound a warning that is aimed at the roadway to tell motorists when a train is approaching. Mr. Bickerstaff said the wayside horns don’t have a wide radius and shouldn’t disturb nearby residents.
Murphy’s move to silence train horns comes two months after 5-year-old Kevin Bradford was killed by a Union Pacific train coming out of a quiet zone in Watauga. Officials later determined that the engineer had sounded the train’s horn when the boy was seen on the tracks. The child is believed to have simply frozen when he saw the approaching train.
“Safety is number one,” Mr. Bickerstaff said. “The engineer always has the discretion to blow the horn if a car has stalled or someone is crossing the track,” he said. “That gives us a better comfort level.”
To compensate for the silenced horns, cities may be required to modify railroad crossings. In Richardson, 6-inch-high curbs had to be raised 1 inch to make it more difficult for motorists to drive around crossing arms. In Irving, officials said elevating the rail lines onto bridges at some intersections would eliminate the need for horns.
“It can be a long process, and it can be expensive if your crossing does not have proper controls, like crossing arms or flashing lights,” said Watauga City Manager Kerry Lacy. Dallas could become the next North Texas city to silence train horns.
After a briefing in February, the Dallas City Council funded an engineering study to inventory railroad crossings and develop a quiet zone plan of action, said John Brunk, assistant director of public works and transportation.
Officials are evaluating several locations for quiet zones: along the Cotton Belt track in Far North Dallas, the Union Pacific line in southeast Dallas, the Trinity Railway Express in northwest Dallas, and the Kansas City Southern line in northeast Dallas.
The city may have funding through the North Central Texas Council of Governments to create quiet zones along the Cotton Belt line, but the money to install safety measures at the other locations may have to come from a future bond referendum, Mr. Brunk said.
But before any action is taken – including seeking federal approval to establish the zones – city officials say they plan to meet with residents along the lines to see if they’re interested in muffling the mournful sounds of freight trains.
“We’ve had citizens along all of these lines express their desire” for quiet zones, Mr. Brunk said. “We’ll be reaching out to them.”