Quiet Zone

A Quiet Zone is a section of a rail line at least one‐half mile in length that contains one or more consecutive public highway‐rail grade crossings at which locomotive horns are not routinely sounded when trains are approaching the crossings. 

Creating a quiet zone requires installing safety improvements to the railroad crossing that would provide the same level of protection as the train horn would otherwise, as well as meeting certain criteria and risk thresholds outlined by the Federal Railroad Administration Train Horn Rule, the California Public Utilities Commission General Orders, the United States Department of Transportation’s Americans with Disabilities Act Standards for Transportation Facilities, and the California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (published by Caltrans). 

Quiet zones can only be created by the public authority responsible for traffic control or law enforcement at crossings. Along the Caltrain corridor, that is most likely the city or county the crossing is located in. Quiet zones must be approved by the Federal Railroad Administration and the requesting entity must also accept liability for the Quiet Zone. Caltrain does not have the ability to create or approve a Quiet Zone.  

Quiet zones may reduce train horn noise; however, locomotive bells are still activated at crossings, and horns may still be used under emergency circumstances; when pedestrians are present or construction work is occurring near the tracks; or at the engineer’s discretion for safety purposes.

Grade separations (separating the railroad tracks from the road and/or pedestrian and bike facilities) and grade closures (closing the road so it no longer crosses the railroad tracks) are long-term safety improvement solutions which will significantly reduce train horn noise. A grade separation or closure removes the requirement that the train use the horn when going through a railroad crossing as vehicular, pedestrian, and bicycle travel will be separated from train travel due to the elimination of the crossing. Note that train horns can still be used at Caltrain grade-separated stations (although to a lesser degree), under emergency circumstances, due to construction crews, or at the engineer’s discretion for safety purposes.

For more information or guidance on establishing a Quiet Zone visit the Federal Railroad Administration website.