Railroad tests ways to quell train horns

BY STEVE RITEA

steve.ritea@newsday.com

May 14, 2008

Offering some relief to residents who have long complained about the sound of train horns that penetrate their walls and roust them from sleep, the Long Island Rail Road yesterday announced a series of measures aimed at balancing noise with safety concerns.

"Train horns are critical safety devices," LIRR president Helena Williams said in a statement. "While we cannot eliminate train horns, we can and have taken a careful look at our equipment and our operations and have developed ... steps [to] ... reduce train horn noise without compromising public safety."

State Sen. Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre), who has spent years working with LIRR officials on the issue, said he was "pleased that the railroad has finally taken definitive action."

The measures include installing a muffling device on the LIRR's M-7 trains, which make up 73 percent of the fleet, that directs the sound of the horn to the front of the train rather than into buildings.

LIRR spokesman Joe Calderone said the mufflers have already been installed on 12 trains as a test. It will cost about $2.7 million and take about two years to install them on all M-7 trains. Horn noise has been a problem primarily on the M-7s.

The railroad also has changed an LIRR policy that required engineers to sound horns when passing through stations without stopping during morning and evening rush hours, he said.

Since April 17, trains have stopped sounding their horns in those situations, unless a blast is needed to warn someone on or near the tracks.

What's more, Calderone said the LIRR applied to the Federal Railroad Administration on April 23 for a waiver that will allow it to drop the decibel level on its horns from 96 to 92.

Ninety-five decibels is about as loud as the rumbling and screeching on a subway platform, while 100 decibels is as loud as a chain saw.

The LIRR also is seeking federal relief from a requirement that trains sound two long horn blasts at all public road grade crossings. Calderone said they are asking for permission to make just one brief horn blast when trains leave stations within 50 feet of crossings.

Cedarhurst Deputy Mayor Benjamin Weinstock, who said he hears the horns in his home half a mile from the tracks and has long been the village point person on the issue, was cautiously optimistic about the announcement. "Obviously, I'm very pleased with the progress ... I'm disheartened that it's taken so long," he said. "Our residents are just desperate for relief."

Directing noise

By placing a muffler around the M-7's horn, the LIRR hopes to direct noise away from homes.

LIRR's fleet of 800-plus M-7 trains are the only ones receiving the muffler system.