HOUSTON – People living in designated quiet zones near railroad tracks across Houston are upset because conductors have used their horns near the intersections.
Neighbors said it started a week ago and didn't know why it’s been happening.
“This is extremely loud,” Tanya Boucher said, as a train’s horn blared in the background at the intersection of Patterson and Allen Street. “This is what we hear all night.”
Boucher, who serves on her HOA and has lived in the Rice Military area since 2009, when quiet zones were put into place, said she was surprised to hear train horns several times a day since last week.
“We understand for safety protocol they need to do the horns. What we're upset about is that it took us over a week and a half to find out any information of why the horns started the sound,” Boucher said.
Union Pacific said after Hurricane Harvey, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) surveyed railroad tracks in quiet zones. During their survey, the FRA crews found damage to safety devices, which is why they lifted the quiet zones.
Investigators found seven crossings, including one in Stafford, that needed repairs to damaged or missing signs and median devices, according to Desiree French, a spokesperson for the FRA.
“Union Pacific determined these conditions to be an immediate safety concern and issued a temporary order for engineers to sound the horn at the crossings until repairs are made. Again, this action by the railroad is allowed under FRA’s Train Horn Rule,” French said.
"There's absolutely no way to mask the noise coming from the train. It's almost as if someone has a bull horn outside your bedroom window and they're blowing it every 30 minutes, every hour,” said Marisa Nowitz, who lives in an apartment near San Felipe.
She and her husband, baby and two-year-old daughter were displaced because of Hurricane Harvey. Their Meyerland home flooded for the first time.
While their home is under construction, they are temporarily living at the apartments near the train tracks and were under the impression it was a quiet zone.
“My children wake up several times at night and having that interrupted sleep is just not good for their health and well-being. Every day, my 2-year-old tells me how tired she is. She tells me the trains hurt her ears,” Nowitz said.
Neighbors have been calling 311, contacting the city, Union Pacific, venting on social media and contacting the local media to get the problem solved.
The FRA and Union Pacific said the railroad notified the city of Houston Public Works Transportation and Drainage Operations because -- since the safety devices are on the street -- it’s their responsibility.
A spokesperson for public works said crews started making repairs on Thursday and originally said it would take about two weeks.
