Quiet zones advance in New York, Wisconsin

A quiet zone went into effect Monday in Burlington, Wis., involving five grade crossings on a CN line.

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) recently approved the city's application to reinstate a quiet zone, which requires trains to refrain from sounding their horns while passing through the crossings. The city installed alternative safety measures at the crossings, such as non-traversable medians, to meet the FRA's quiet zone requirements.

Meanwhile, the town of Hamburg, N.Y., continues to work on a proposed quiet zone along a 4.3-mile stretch of CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern Railway tracks. The city plans to install supplemental safety measures at several crossings to comply with FRA requirements.

The work includes the installation of traffic channelization devices directly on the pavement surfaces, extending 100 feet from each crossing gate arm, and pavement resurfacing. The town expects to begin construction in mid-October.