Shh! Merced residents say train horns blare, disturb sleep and should be silenced

Hearing from supporters of quiet zones on Merced’s northern railroad this week, the City Council voiced support for the idea with the caveat that, as with most things, it depends on the cost.

Exactly what it would cost to make safety improvements to the crossings is unclear, but residents and members of the City Council said they support looking into it.

The roughly 4-mile stretch of BNSF railroad in Merced is crossed by eight roads used by cars, according to a report from Councilman Michael Belluomini. Eleven trains use that track between 10 p.m. and 7:30 a.m., according to a 2007 study done for the city’s general plan.

It is routine for conductors to sound the horn between 15 and 20 seconds when approaching a public intersection, according to the Federal Railroad Administration.

“I live a couple blocks north of the tracks on the other side of Bear Creek, and the trains wake me up and it’s such a noise,” Merced resident Curtis Riggs said. “My heart just breaks when I think about the babies and children whose bedrooms are literally 50 feet from that rail.”

The city would have different options for creating quiet zones, which range in costs. City representatives would have to work with the rail administration, Public Utilities Commission and other transportation officials, according to the rail administration.

Belluomini estimates it will cost the city between $200,000 and $600,000 at each crossing to pay for extra arms, lights and other requirements for quiet zones. Belluomini’s estimates came from the cost for zones in Richmond, he said.

Those estimates seem low and don’t account for the additional liability the city would take on, according to Dan Castro, a locomotive engineer for more than a decade. The Los Banos resident who works for Caltrain in the San Jose area said quiet zones are dangerous.

“Quiet zones (are) not beneficial,” he said. “People are so impatient.”

Estimates in other central San Joaquin Valley towns seem to differ from the Richmond numbers. In 2014, Modesto’s Economic Development Committee estimated safety improvements range from $465,000 at one crossing in Stanislaus County to more than $1 million at another.

Escalon paid about $140,000 per intersection for wayside horns, a less common option that uses lights and a less pervasive horn instead of the train’s horn.

“I think this is an important issue, it’s a quality of life issue, but the issue is cost,” Councilman Matt Serratto said.

From his Farmers Insurance office about a block north of the railroad, Gary Rucker is familiar with the blaring train horn in Merced. He said it’s been “a big issue for me for a long time.” He urged the council to move forward with the investigation of costs.

“It’s never going to be known what the cost is going to be until you create the committee to go out and make this study happen,” he said.

Mayor Mike Murphy, too, said he supports the effort. “I’m hopeful that this is the council that gets this project done,” he said.

The council is set to talk again about the zones at a priority setting meeting at 7 p.m. March 29 at City Hall, 678 W. 18th St.

This story was originally published March 21, 2017 at 5:16 PM with the headline "Shh! Merced residents say train horns blare, disturb sleep and should be silenced."