CLAREMORE, Okla. — Leaders of Claremore are working toward declaring a ‘quiet zone’ for the trains that roll through city limits. They hope to submit an application to the Federal Rail Administration by next month.
The city has 16 rail crossings, and conductors are federally required to blast their horns four times as they approach. If the Federal Rail Administration approved a quiet zone, trains would not have to use their horns.
Claremore City Manager John Feary said that while railroads don’t like ‘quiet zones’ because horns are used for safety, they are working with the city.
“The amount of trains that we have is not real common in the Midwest, and to top that off, not only do we have two class one railroads that go through town, it’s one of the few places in the country where they actually interconnect,” Feary said. “They have to cross each other, so there are times where if one’s coming, the other has to wait, you know, and all those things, it cuts off town.”
Feary said he spent much of Wednesday with the Union Pacific representative, O-DOT, the FRA, and their consultant, inspecting all 16 crossings to make notes about changes needed.
To make a quiet zone more attainable, the city plans to install infrastructure like delineated curbs near crossings to keep vehicles further back when trains approach.
Several residences, as well as businesses, sit along the rear of the tracks. Matthew Frye is a long-time resident of Claremore and manages Boom-a-rang Diner, which is located near one of the crossings. He said while many people in his community are used to hearing the trains, it can pose issues.
“They definitely do impact our business,” Frye said. “Sometimes it prevents people from getting to us, especially when they stop in the middle and cut the city off half and half.”
With two class one railroads that run through the city, between 36 and 40 trains pass through Claremore on any given day at any time. Feary said this has been an issue people have been trying to address for over a decade.
“They started talking about this in 2006, [in] 2016, we filed a notice of intent with the Federal Rail Administration, and it’s taken this long to get all these things in place,” Feary said.
There is a mandatory 18-month review process — which begins once the application is submitted — for the FRA to make comments and review plans. At that point, if there are no other issues, within two years, a quiet zone could be declared.
“At the end of the day, everybody knows there's nothing we can force them to do right now, but we are going through the proper and appropriate steps to make sure that we get a quiet zone and people understand, they understand why they're doing it,” Feary said. “ And it's important to note that even with a quiet zone designation, if a conductor feels that there is something he sees on the tracks ahead of him or an animal, a person, it doesn't mean they can't blow the horn.”
Feary said he hopes Claremore can be a model for other cities in the state and beyond. The FRA has up to 18 months, and Feary said the city will utilize every relationship they have to make sure their application goes through as quickly as possible, with all of the proper work done, too.
Application for a quiet zone could be declined if there is an incident on the rails or if the FRA does not believe necessary changes were made to make it safe.
Feary said the goal is to make his community more peaceful with less frequent noise from the trains.
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