Three Views on New Metra Quiet Zones

The sky was boisterous this weekend but the trains were silent.

As part of an effort to improve the quality of life around train tracks, all nine of Orland Park’s train crossings became quiet zones on July 1. Train conductors are no longer allowed to blow the horn, except in cases of emergency.

It all started in spring 2008 when a group of residents from the Crossing at Brook Hill subdivision wrote the village a letter about train horns wrecking havoc on their sleeping routines. Village staff spent the next three years researching the guidelines of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), public records of village committee meetings show. This past March, the village secured all the proper permits and purchased railroad safety improvement materials. 

Resident’s concern: At Tuesday night’s board of trustees meeting, a resident from the Collette Highland subdivision near the 153rd Street Metra station took the podium to voice about the new silence. Teresa Shinnick contends that the village rushed the project through on the impulses of a small group of homeowners.

She implored trustees on Tuesday to “temporarily retract the quiet order on the trains until a better solution can be created to address safety issues and noise level issues that residents have with this project.” They didn't.

Later she added that she would prefer to know the train was approaching than take the risk of getting killed on the crossing because the gates failed to drop.

Shinnick said that she had no illusions when she purchased a home near train tracks and has even gotten used to the sound of horns.

“If you compare safety over convenience, then safety should always win,” she said.

Village’s take: An engineering study and risk analysis was performed and reviewed by FRA, the State of Illinois and Metra before the village was given the go-ahead for the project, village manager Paul Grimes said, adding that “safety is their highest priority."

In compliance with those safety guidelines, Public Works Director Ed Wilmes noted that the village has installed road blocks between lanes to prevent cars from crossing the tracks when the gate is down, as well as signs—in English—warning drivers that trains do not routinely blow horns.

In time, he added, the village will be required to make general crossing improvements—like gates for pedestrians—as federal and state regulations demand.

What’s more, Wilmes said, the village will be obliged to submit annual crossing statistics for regulators’ review.

Norfolk Southern Railroad, which owns the line, runs lumber and tank between Landers Yard in Chicago and Manhattan—but no freight—and is subject to the same safety rules as Metra.

Metra precautions: In the event of an electrical outage, a computerized fail-safe system causes the gates to drop automatically, turning the signal lights red, Metra spokeswoman Meg Reile said last week.

In the event that the backup system fails and the gates do not fall, “our trains come to a stop and do no proceed again until they get signal clearance,” she added.

If the gates cannot be restored within a reasonable amount of time, then Metra maintenance workers, with the aid of local police, are instructed to block off the crossings and flag trains through at a slow speed, Reile said.

“It’s intended to bring the same level of safety as the horn would,” she said.

What’s next? Mayor Dan McLaughlin asked village staff to get him and his fellow board members a copy of the FRA’s safety guidelines because “some of this is new to me, too.” He also asked Wilmes to stay in touch with Shinnick and get her a copy.