Horns Continue to Sound As Officials Look to Bring Silence

Mayor Michael McGlynn spent much of Wednesday afternoon on the phone with state officials in hopes of finding a way to silent train horns in Medford soon.

"There are no guarantees," McGlynn said in a phone interview Wednesday. "But we’re hopeful because the lieutenant governor, secretary of transportation, Congressmen (Ed) Markey and Richard Davey (MBTA general manager) all have expressed their sincere interest in resolving this issue in the interest of the residents of Medford."

The horns have sounded at rail crossings at Canal Street and High Street since Friday, when the Federal Railroad Administration revoked Medford's status as a quiet zone for failing to meet a June 2010 deadline calling for Medford to implement safety standards at the crossings.

The city placed an order for center-strip barricades on each side of both intersections Wednesday, McGlynn said. He said he expects those dividers to address the safety requirement. They will take 7 to 10 days to be installed, he said.

Federal Railroad Administration regulations require the safety alternative to horns be installed and inspected before re-instating the quiet zone, but McGlynn said he wants the ban on noise re-instated faster than that.

“The goal is we get it done," he said. "Then they keep the horns off until they (the FRA) approve the improvements. We have the cooperation of the FRA."

A 2003 FRA study said ending the quiet zone in Medford would impact 1,160 homes severely and 2,260 in all.

Residents in West Medford and the Hillside have expressed frustration with the constant horns. McGlynn said the frustration is understandable.

"Having these whistles going is like putting a nail in someone’s head in some places in the city," he said.

The horns started blowing unannounced on Friday night, to the surprise of McGlynn and other city officials, who left a meeting with the FRA and Massachusetts Bay Commuter Rail last Wednesday thinking they would have two weeks to get the job done, he said.

But the MBTA received a letter instructing conductors to use locomotive's horns when passing through the interesections Friday, McGlynn said.

FRA spokesman Warren Flatau said he could not comment on that meeting. But the FRA has had correspondence with the city regarding the issue going back to at least 2007, he said.

The June 2010 deadline was established by a 2005 train horn law that called for all locomotives nationwide to blow their horns when crossing a roadway, or for municipalities with pre-existing quiet zone agreements with rail companies to come up with a safety alternative by 2010.

A total of 457 quiet rule zones are established in the country, according to FRA data.