Wakefield Train Situation A Big Beepin' Mess

WAKEFIELD, MA — The noise never stops. It's liable to be heard at all hours of the day. And there's no telling when it'll end.

Those blaring train horns? Yeah, sure.

But also the complaints from incredulous residents.

Almost as soon as the Broadway Crossing reopened Sunday night after more than a year shut down, horns — and grievances about the horns — followed.

Here's how we got here: The Broadway Crossing had been closed for National Grid and municipal work, which was initially supposed to keep it out of action for just a few weeks. But the Federal Railroad Administration wouldn't let the town reopen it without forfeiting its Quiet Zone status after reassessing the crossing.

Wakefield's Quiet Zone status is a designation that keeps trains from being required to sound their horns whenever they approach. Losing that — even for just Broadway — would have applied for the six crossings across town.

So for months, the town worked with the feds to reopen the crossing while maintaining its Quiet Zone status. Simply making improvements to satisfy the Quiet Zone standard would take too much time and money.

"This would require not only the time for the application and approval process, but also a significant financial investment to design, permit, and construct more intricate infrastructure at several of our crossings," Town Council Chairwoman Julie Smith-Galvin said in a statement.

Finally, Wakefield got to the point where it was able to reopen the crossing while maintaining a less-stringent "Pre-Rule Quiet Zone" status it has been grandfathered into.

The problem is the Federal Railroad Administration has yet to issue a final written approval. While Smith-Galvin said the town has "high confidence" it's coming, it's not official until it's official.

Still, the expectation along with the complaints officials have heard from people who want the crossing reopened gave Town Council what it needed for a unanimous vote to reopen Sept. 20 — even though it could be five weeks until that final approval comes.

For residents who live near the tracks, that means five or six weeks of potentially sleepless nights. Many in local Facebook have been vocal about their disappointment and frustration.

"It is by no means a perfect solution and was not taken lightly," Smith-Galvin said, promising to have Town Council discuss the issue if the noise lasts beyond the five weeks.

An item on the crossing is already on Monday night's agenda.

"We are in a no win situation in which everyone in town is impacted to some extent," he said. "We ask for your patience and understanding as we work to resolve it."

Mike Carraggi can be reached at mike.carraggi@patch.com. Follow him on Twitter @PatchCarraggi. Subscribe to Wakefield Patch for free local news and alerts and like us on Facebook.