Caltrain Continues Work to Reduce Train Horn Noise

By

October 6, 2009

The Caltrain Joint Powers Board recently approved $200,000 in funding to expedite the work needed to return Caltrain’s horns to conditions that existed earlier this summer.

The work requires the restoration of the horns in a box underneath the locomotive equipment. As a result, the dispersion of the horn noise will be reduced substantially and the ambient noise level of the horns will be restored to prior levels. The horn restoration project on 47 locomotives and lead cab cars is expected to be completed by the end of November.

Caltrain staff is working initially on those locomotives with the horns that emit the most disruptive pitch. Work on more than a dozen trains has already been completed and once fully finished, the horns will be in full compliance with all federal regulations. Residents and businesses adjacent to the tracks should notice an improvement.

“This project is of the highest priority at Caltrain,” said Executive Officer for Public Affairs Mark Simon. “We deeply regret how much this is bothering our neighbors and we are working as quickly as we can to solve this problem.”

A safety inspection in late July determined that the horns were not making the specific, sequential blasts required by federal law. Because the horns were out of compliance with federal regulations, Caltrain was required to move immediately to reconfigure the horns so they could make the necessary sequential blasts.

Horns were reconnected on the top of the equipment and immediately reduced to the lowest noise level possible, 98 decibels. Because the horns were on the top of the equipment, 14 feet aboveground, the sound dispersed much more broadly.

The horn restoration project places the horns in a box beneath the equipment, which means the sound produced by the horns will be directed at the tracks, a low angle that will minimize how far the sound disperses.

The horns were deployed beneath the equipment in 2001 in response to community complaints about noise.