Train Horns Blare In Lake Forest 'Quiet Zones' Due To Safety Rules

LAKE FOREST, IL — City officials explained that federal rail safety regulations are behind the recent surge in train horn activity along the Union Pacific Railroad tracks.

Residents have reported an increase in train horns along the tracks that run parallel to Route 41. According to a statement from Lake Forest city staff, the uptick in horn activity is due to overgrown vegetation at several railroad crossings.

A representative of Union Pacific, the publicly traded Omaha-based railroad company that owns the tracks, informed city officials that the overgrowth obstructs the view of oncoming trains, triggering the sounding of horns as a federally mandated safety measure.

"As a federally mandated safety precaution, conductors must sound the horns when approaching these areas to ensure safety," city officials said.

Rules for blowing train horns are set out by the Federal Railroad Administration, which generally requires that train horns be sounded at public highway-rail grade crossings to warn motorists and pedestrians of an approaching train.

Some of the Chicago region is exempted from horn rules by the Illinois Commerce Commission, and some places, like Lake Forest, are designed as quiet zones— areas where trains are not required to sound their horns at crossings, as long as there are additional safety measures in place, such as gates, flashing lights and warning bells.

But when visibility at crossings is compromised by excessive greenery, federal safety regulations take precedence and conductors must toot regardless of quiet zone status.

"Union Pacific has indicated crews will be sent out to clear the vegetation in the near future. The City's quiet zones remain in effect, but safety regulations take precedence," staff said in the statement.

"While the City doesn't have authority over the railroads, City staff are actively monitoring the situation and emphasizing the urgency of completing the vegetation trimming as soon as possible."

Union Pacific's tracks in the Lake Forest area are shared with Metra, the regional commuter rail operator, under agreements that allow for both freight and passenger services.

The railroad company is responsible for maintaining the safety and infrastructure of its lines, including clearing vegetation near crossings.

The issues with vegetation overgrowth come as Metra, in partnership with Union Pacific and other "railroad partners," carries out more than $332 million in construction projects this year across its system, including track maintenance, bridge replacements and signal upgrades.

On the Union Pacific North Line, officials planned to replace 40,000 railroad ties between Chicago and Highland Park in order to improve the line's durability and safety for both freight and commuter trains, according to Metra officials.

Plans were also put in place to replace at least a half-dozen crossings on the line, including those at Lake and Wilmette avenues in Wilmette, Lincoln Avenue in Highland Park, Old Elm Road in Fort Sheridan, Martin Luther King Drive in North Chicago and Shiloh Boulevard in Zion.

"We plan to take full advantage of the construction season to address projects big and small across the railroad,” Metra CEO and Executive Director Jim Derwinski said earlier this year.

Since December 2019, Union Pacific has sought to end its obligation to operate commuter trains on its lines, including the UP-N Line, as company officials look to focus solely on freight operations. The contract between Metra and UP ended in February 2020, and Metra sued in October 2020.

In September 2021, a federal trial court judge ruled in favor of Union Pacific, finding that the railroad was not legally obligated to keep operating the commuter rail system. And in July 2023, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the ruling that the railroad company no longer had to keep providing services on the Union Pacific North, Union Pacific West and Union Pacific Northwest Lines.