'Quiet zones' will silence train horns

BY MICHAEL HIBBLEN

mhibblen@MiamiHerald.com

A CSX locomotive rumbles up the track, pulling a line of boxcars along Interstate 95 in Hollywood, blasting its horn as it approaches the Stirling Road crossing.

''We're now hearing what we want the whistle ban for,'' says Dr. Martin Shugar, who lives about 200 feet from the tracks, in the Lakes of Emerald Hills. ``No wall in the world is going to stop that.''

Shugar and his neighbors are about to get their wish.

For several years, he has led efforts by his homeowners' association to silence the increasing number of trains on the tracks, which are shared by Tri-Rail, Amtrak and CSX.

Routine train whistles will sound today for the final time. On Tuesday, five railroad crossings between Stirling and Pembroke roads will be designated a ''quiet zone,'' meaning that train horns can only be used in emergencies.

After a similar whistle ban in the 1980s, the number of train-car collisions tripled, but officials say this time will be different. That's because intersections in the affected area have been upgraded with new gates and other improvements aimed at keeping cars out of the crossing when a train is coming.

But the union that represents railroad employees warns the horn ban will have devastating results.

''When this goes into effect, you're not only going to have people die, which was proven on the Florida East Coast Railway a few years back, you're also going to have animals die,'' said Carl Cochran, past director for the Florida chapter of the United Transportation Union.

Cochran, who retired last year from CSX, spent decades running trains up and down the same stretch of track affected by this new ban. He calls train horns ``one of the biggest safety items we've got.''

Cochran says most railroad workers regard air horns, which are above the cab of each locomotive, as a necessary nuisance.

''We would be the first to say we don't want to hear that horn blow for the simple reason that we're the ones that, when we retire, we're usually deaf,'' Cochran said. ``But we know it's a safety factor, not only for the public, but also for ourselves.''

But residents say they're being awakened much more often since a second track was finished last year on the line, which runs mostly along I-95. It now sees about 60 trains a day, almost double the number before the second track, between Miami and West Palm Beach. Even more trains are expected in the years ahead.

''It's very traumatic for homeowners bordering the tracks,'' said Steven Reese, president of the Emerald Hills Homeowners Association, adding that the horn ban is ``long-awaited and much needed.''

Boca Raton became the first community along the line to become a quiet zone two weeks ago. So far, officials report no problems. Other cities also are pursuing the designation, with West Palm Beach likely to be next in December. It is up to each local community to file the extensive paperwork, while much of the physical work has already been completed. Hollywood Mayor Mara Giulianti, who lives within half a mile of the tracks, has been aggressively pursuing the ban.

''I'm going to be up at 1 a.m. listening,'' she said.

She doesn't believe there will be an increase in the number of accidents, saying that anyone who would drive through downed gates and safety features likely wouldn't be deterred by a horn.

''Unfortunately there are always going to be people that, no matter what you do, are going to disobey the law and sometimes that creates casualties,'' Giulianti said. ``But I don't think you'll see any large number.''