Volume 142, No. 111 covering the 2nd Session of the 104th Congress (1995 - 1996) was published by the Congressional Record.
The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“THE TRAIN WHISTLE RESOLUTION” mentioning the Environmental Protection Agency was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E1371-E1372 on July 25, 1996.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
THE TRAIN WHISTLE RESOLUTION
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HON. WILLIAM O. LIPINSKI
of illinois
in the house of representatives
Thursday, July 25, 1996
Mr. LIPINSKI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in order to introduce a piece of legislation that will benefit communities throughout the Nation. My legislation is a straightforward resolution regarding the implementation of the train whistle requirement of the Swift Rail Act of 1994.
An amendment added to the Swift Rail Development Act of 1994 mandated the Secretary of Transportation to issue regulations requiring trains to sound their horns at every public road-rail grade crossing in the country, 24 hours a day. According to the law, the Secretary must issue the new regulations by November 1996.
There are approximately 168,000 public highway-rail crossings in the United States and railroads regularly sound train whistles at most of these crossings. Trains sound their horn as a final warning of a train's approach; the horn is in addition to motorist warning devices such as signs, lights, bells, and gates at crossings. However, at nearly 2,100 crossings, local communities have banned train whistles to limit excessive noise in residential or other designated areas. The rules required by the Swift Rail Development Act will now preempt the local ordinances that silence train whistles.
At a distance of a half-mile, the noise level of a standard American train whistle is 86 decibels. This is well over what the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says is the maximum noise threshold tolerable for peace and serenity. It is no wonder that communities that have developed along rail lines would want to limit when and where trains can sound their horns.
But now, because of the Swift Rail Development Act, trains will sound their whistles at every public grade crossing in America. This may not pose a problem for rural America, but it is a real issue for communities, like those in Illinois, that are located along rail lines. The Chicago area, for example, is the historic rail hub of the United States and has some 1,500 trains moving daily through 2,000 crossings. The impact of all these trains blowing their whistles day and night would be immediate and obvious and would make the jet noise at O'Hare International Airport seem like a minor irritation. The village of Western Springs, which is located in my congressional district, has four street crossings and one pedestrian crossing and the new law would mean 75 minutes of whistle blowing a day.
In 1988, the Illinois General Assembly passed a State law which required both freight and passenger trains to sound their horns when approaching crossings, day and night. The law preempted any local ordinances that banned train whistles. As soon as railroads began implementing the law, the public outcry was so strong that a DuPage County judge stepped in and signed a temporary restraining order to keep trains from blowing their horns. Illinois residents living near rail lines could not live with the noise. They could not even sleep through the night without being interrupted by a train whistle. Shirley DeWine of Berwyn, which is also located in my congressional district, was quoted as saying that she would have to sell her house, which is located a block from the Burlington Northern Railroad if the trains kept blowing their whistles. Fortunately, the Illinois Commerce Commission took emergency action to make sure that the ban on train horns would remain in effect at most crossings.
However, the peace and quiet in Illinois is once again being threatened. This time it is a Federal law that requires trains to blow their whistles at all public grade crossings at all hours of the day and night. Therefore, I, along with a majority of my Illinois colleagues, am introducing this important resolution to express the sense of Congress that the Secretary of Transportation should take into account the interests of the affected communities before issuing the final regulations.
The Swift Rail Development Act of 1994 does allow the Secretary of Transportation to provide exemptions to the train whistle requirement at grade crossings where other safety measures are shown to provide the same level of safety as a final warning from a train whistle. This resolution directs the Secretary to also take into account other criteria, such as the past safety record at the grade crossing and the needs of the community. Also, the resolution allows communities up to 3 years to install supplemental safety measures whenever the Secretary determines that supplementary safety measures are necessary to provide an exception to the train whistle requirement. The resolution also directs the Secretary to work in partnership with affected communities to provide technical assistance and to develop a reasonable schedule for the installation of those measures. Supplemental safety measures are often costly and complicated, and local communities need both financial and technical help installing these safety measures.
The Federal Railroad Administration has been engaged in a very active outreach effort inform communities of the forthcoming rules regarding train whistles. Administrator Jolene Molitoris informed me, in a letter to my office in February, that because of the intense interest in this issue, the FRA will not be able to issue a final rule by the imposed deadline of November 2, 1996. I believe this is encouraging news. The FRA and the Secretary of Transportation can use the extra time to research and develop additional alternatives to whistle blowing. In fact, this resolution will help guide the Secretary of Transportation as he continues to work out the final details of the train whistle requirement.
I understand that the intent of the train whistle requirement is to reduce highway-rail crashes but it is a blanket, one-size-fits-all solution to the problem of rail safety. The resolution I am introducing today allows the Secretary to consider at-grade, accident-reducing safety measures other than whistle blowing that are practical for the affected communities.
I encourage my colleagues from throughout the Nation to join the members of the Illinois delegation, including Congressman Rush, Congressman Jessie Jackson, Jr., Congressman Yates, Congressman Porter, Congressman Weller, Congressman Costello, Congressman Fawell, Congressman Denny Hastert, Congressman Ewing, Congressman LaHood, Congressman Durbin, and myself, in sponsoring this legislation. We recognize the important safety issues involved, but we also recognize that communities must be given affordable options for avoiding the whistle requirements.
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